CF plus ST- Sheckie through A to Z
by Brainyxbat
Summary: A collection of Sheckie oneshots for every letter of the alphabet. Complete!
1. A: Apples

**(A/N: I had this idea a short while back, after recalling a currently small collection of alphabet oneshots for Timon x Shenzi from The Lion King. I decided to do that for my OC x Canon OTP, Shenzi x Chuckie. The idea for this first one was given to me by celrock when I was stuck. Thanks, celrock! And enjoy this first oneshot.)**

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 **A: Apples**

Summary: In the fall, loving couple Shenzi and Chuckie pick apples together. 

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16-year-old Chuckie Finster waited patiently outside a house, while sitting in his car. He had a date with his beautiful girlfriend of almost a year, and she seemed to be running a little late. They were going to pick apples at a nearby orchard, since it was a perfect day for it. He was wearing a white ringer t-shirt, grey jeans, classic Converse mid-tops, and a cobalt blue zip-up hoodie for the fall weather. Like how it had been his whole life, his red hair was all over the place, reaching his shoulders as his purple rectangular eyeglasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Freckles dusted his cheeks as well, and he wasn't muscular in the slightest. He didn't know how he was able to receive such a wonderful girlfriend, but he did, and he wasn't letting her go anytime soon.

His head snapped up when the front door of the house burst open, and rushing footsteps pounded the porch and sidewalk. He smiled when freshly-turned-16-year-old Shenzi Tuck ran up, and hastily entered the vehicle. "Sorry I'm late," She panted, "I couldn't find my basket anywhere." She briefly held up a black wire basket for emphasis.

"It's okay," He smiled at her, and kissed her cheek. This is the girlfriend mentioned earlier; The love of Chuckie's life, his reason for living, you name it. She had flawless, light purplish-grey skin that seemingly never broke out, flowing black hair that reached her lower shoulders, large eyes that sparkled in the sun and moon, and a lovely personality. For their date, she was wearing black jeggings, a cobalt blue leopard-printed sweater, black mid-calf Converse sneakers with white laces, and a red apple necklace. In her hair were extensions that faded from black to red, and a single, royal blue extension was clipped on her long bangs, which covered her left eye. It even covered the left lens of her black cat-eye prescription eyeglasses. He didn't think that she needed to cover her face (she was bullied for her different-colored eyes; her left is blue, while her right is green), but he respected her decision.

Chuckie dated girls before Shenzi, and they just didn't work out, for different reasons. Either they were too snobby, too dumb, or even both. But when he went on a date with his best friend Shenzi Tuck, it just felt right. "You look ready for apple picking," He remarked.

"I am," She blushed, "Apples are my favorite fruit. But the best part of this day will be that I'll be picking them with you." She kissed the side of his head.

"That's the same reason I have," Chuckie smiled lovingly at her, "But with you." They shared a kiss for a second, before he started the car engine. "Let's get to it." He started driving to the orchard that his parents recommended, with Shenzi reading the directions out loud for him. After a while, he parked the car in front of a small hut. "Here we are, Shen." The couple jumped out, and were prepared for picking apples by the man in charge of the orchard.

As they walked, Chuckie let his thoughts occupy him a little bit. He couldn't help but smile as Shenzi swung his arm back and forth absentmindedly, while looking for the perfect fruits to pick. She didn't seem to have a care in the world. That was one thing he admired about her; She stayed positive and upbeat whenever she could. Chuckie didn't know how anyone could be so heartless, breaking her spirit and insulting her. His heart broke just from _imagining_ her crying, never mind witnessing it. He wanted to wipe and kiss her tears away whenever she cried.

He always did that for her when it was needed. He also brushed her hair from her face when she slept. He tickled her sides when she needed a good laugh. He rubbed or scratched her back, or stroked her hair to help her relax. Basically, he did everything he could to show her just how much he loved her. She was the most amazing girl that he ever had the pleasure to know. It seemed like every time he looked at her, she would be moving in slow-motion with an imaginery breeze blowing her dark hair and clothes back. She was the most beautiful girl in the whole world; He wanted to run his fingers through her silky soft, ebony tresses forever. He wanted to lay his fingertips on her smooth, blushing cheeks. He constantly desired for her soft, tiny lips to be on his. Long story short, he wanted her in his life forever; And he would make sure that would happen.

"Ooh, those look good!" Her lovely voice snapped him out of his trance. He watched her reach up to the apples she spotted, and blushed when her small sweater rose up with her arm and her jeans lowered a bit, revealing soft skin on her flat tummy. She almost always wore shirts like that, but they made his face flush every time. She seemed oblivious to the effect they had on him. "I, I can't reach them," She stammered timidly.

"Here, I'll get them," Chuckie smiled down at her, "Which ones do you want?"

"Those ones up there," She pointed to some red and green apples that looked flawless.

"Okey-dokey then." He was able to pick them with ease, due to his recent growth spurt, and carefully set them in her basket after she held it out.

"Thanks Chuckie," She smiled up at him after he grabbed them all.

"My pleasure," He kissed her forehead, "Let's look around some more."

"Okay." The loving couple walked among the trees, hand-in-hand while Shenzi held the basket. "It's a nice day, isn't it?" She remarked, while brushing some hair from her face as a breeze blew by.

"Yep," He agreed with a slight nod, "Perfect for a stroll and fruit picking." She giggled when he held her closer by her shoulders, and laid his head on hers. "And I bet our families will love the apples. My mom makes a mean apple pie."

"Ooh, cool," She smiled, "My mom makes some really great apple crisp."

"That sounds good."

"Oh, it is. Maybe you can try it sometime."

"I'll try," He shrugged, "And maybe you can try my mom's pie."

"I'd love to," She smiled. "Ooh! There are some good ones!" She was just barely able to reach one, but needed Chuckie's assistance to grab the rest. After the apples were set in the basket, the two looked back and admired the red and golden trees before them. The sun was starting to set behind them. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Shenzi remarked.

"It sure is," Chuckie nodded, and turned to look down at her, "But... not as beautiful as you." He gently turned her head to face him, and leaned in so his lips connected with hers. Her free hand laid on his shoulder, as he tenderly cupped her cheek. He normally didn't believe in any so-called "signs" from cheesy romance movies that his sister and female friends enjoyed, but whenever he and Shenzi kissed, he felt sparks fly. He was internally amused when her soft lips tasted like green apples; She was clearly dedicated to this date. He hated to break away, but they both needed to breathe, so they separated after a few seconds. He kept his hand on her blushing cheek as he smiled down at her with pure love in his eyes. She smiled back up at him with as much love in her eyes as his, with her arm now around his neck. She laid on his shoulder, and cuddled into his soft sweatshirt a bit. Chuckie's smile grew as his head laid on hers. The breeze made their hair and clothes blow around a bit as they enjoyed their moment together.

"I love you," He heard her quiet, shy voice after a few seconds of silence.

"I love you too," He held her closer, and kissed her silky hair. "You want to see if there are any more good apples here?"

"Sure," He felt her nod her head, before she reluctantly stepped away and they continued their walk. They were able to find a few more apples that they decided were perfect, and stashed them in the basket. At one point when she reached up to grab an apple, Chuckie gently grabbed her wrist and sneaked a quick kiss on her tiny hand, getting infectious giggles out of her.

They were at the orchard for around an hour or two in total time before their basket was full and they decided to head home. After paying for the apples, they sat in Chuckie's car and made sure the heat was running after the vehicle was turned on. "You cold, Shen?" He asked her when she was rubbing her arms.

"A bit," She admitted. She was surprised when he started taking off his hoodie. "Oh Chuckie, you don't have to. Won't you be cold?"

"I'll be alright," He assured her as he slipped out of it, and gave it to her.

"You sure?" She asked him.

"Positive," He nodded, "You need it more than I do."

"Well, o-okay then." She pulled her arms in the sleeves, and relished the heat that Chuckie's body had provided to it. Her hands were almost completely concealed in the sleeves, and one of the shoulders was close to falling down her arm but she didn't mind. She did admit that she felt a lot better with it on, but she still worried about Chuckie as he drove. She wore a sweater, while he had a t-shirt! How was he not cold? Did boys have a high tolerance for the cold?

She loved Chuckie, and wanted only the best for him. She had been in love with him since their preteen years, maybe even before, but was afraid to tell him. They had such an amazing friendship, and she didn't want to give it up by admitting her feelings for him. Because what if he didn't feel the same way? Then they would never be friends again. But when he told her that he was in love with her, and asked her out on a date, she replied with "yes" over and over, along with blurting out her feelings for him. Their date went very well, and after a while, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and she eagerly said yes. That was almost a full year ago, and their love was still strong as ever.

She cuddled into his cozy hoodie a bit as flashbacks of their first date entered her mind. He took her to a carnival that had been in town, and they had a blast together. They won fun prizes for each other, rode on rides, even the scary ones, admired the booths, and ate classic carnival food. It was among the best days of her life, no joke. A few weeks after that was when Chuckie asked her to be his girlfriend, while they were at the mall. She said yes, and they had been together ever since with no problems. At her request, they kept their dates casual and inexpensive, since she didn't want him to spend a buttload of money on her, and vice versa.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the car stopping in the Finsters' garage. "I thought we could give apples to my parents first, and then yours," Chuckie told her.

"That's a good idea," She nodded, and followed him outside with the basket, and into the house.

"Mom! Dad!" He called out, "We brought apples!"

Chaz and Kira Finster met them in the kitchen as Shenzi set the basket on a chair. "Ooh, these look delicious," Kira smiled at them, "You two did good."

"Well, Shen found them," Chuckie shrugged, "I helped her grab any that were too high up."

"That was very nice of you, Chuckie," Chaz remarked.

"Yes it was," Shenzi laid on her boyfriend's shoulder for a second. "So um, we decided to divide them up evenly; Half for you guys, and half for my parents."

"That sounds fair," Kira agreed as her son and future daughter-in-law divided the inventory in two equal halves. "I just might make a pie with these when I can."

"Awesome," Chuckie smiled.

"I was told that you make a very good apple pie," Shenzi chimed in, "Maybe I can try a piece."

"That would be very nice," The Japanese woman nodded, "We'll save a piece for you."

"Thanks," The spectacled teen girl blushed shyly. After a few minutes of hanging out with her boyfriend's family, the two headed for the Tuck residence. "Well, it seemed like your folks loved the apples," She remarked.

"Yep," Chuckie agreed, "You sure have a sharp eye."

"Thanks," She blushed again. They arrived at her house after around a minute of driving. She jumped out of the car with her loving boyfriend following, and entered her home through the front door. "Mom! Dad! We're back!" She called out. Like before, they all met up in the kitchen.

"Ooh, these apples look great," Frankie remarked.

"Some of these will be great in a crisp," Felicia added as she washed them, "The rest can be eaten."

"Hey Mom? Um, can you take out all the apples you need right now, ahead of time?" Shenzi timidly requested.

"You want to eat these with Chuckie?"

"Uh huh."

"Alright then." Felicia took out the required amount of fruits from the basket, and placed them in a bowl. She then put the rest back in the basket after they were clean. "You kids enjoy them."

"Thanks, we will," Shenzi grabbed the basket, and sat on a swing hung above the porch with Chuckie. "Apple?" She held up a red one to him.

"Thanks," He accepted it, and took a small bite. "Wow, that's great," He remarked after swallowing, "You did good, Shen."

"Aww," She blushed, while grabbing another red one, "Thanks Chuck, but you deserve credit too." She took a small bite out of hers.

"Thanks Shenzi, but you found them all."

"Not all of them," She shrugged, "Just some."

"Most," He smirked.

"Okay most," She giggled, and laid on his shoulder. They threw the cores in the trash can by the porch steps, narrowly succeeding. "Today was fun, Chuckie. Thanks for the date."

"You're very welcome," Chuckie kissed her forehead over her bangs, "I was a bit hesitant at first, because I wasn't sure if picking apples was really a date, but I decided to at least try."

"Well it was wonderful. Why wouldn't it be a date?"

"Honestly... before we started going out, I attempted to ask out Samantha Shane with the apples idea, but she thought it sounded "boring", so we went with something that left me with almost no money."

"Aww," She frowned sympathetically, "That sounds selfish of her. She should've experienced the apples idea before judging it. I for one found it very enjoyable, and... romantic." She snuggled in his shoulder. She then remembered. "Oh! Um, d-do you want your hoodie back?"

"No thanks," He shook his head, "I'm fine."

"You sure? I don't want you to feel cold."

"Positive. I'm alright."

She felt more sympathy when he shivered a bit. "You don't look alright to me. You're shivering; Here." She set the basket next to her on the swing, carefully sat on his lap, and firmly embraced him after setting the basket in her lap. "At least let me warm you up."

Chuckie's face blushed shyly from the sweet gesture, and the warmth radiating from her body to his. "Th-thanks," He stammered, and hugged her back. After a few seconds, he gently tilted her head up with his fingertips, and kissed her lips sweetly. She kissed him back as her hands landed on his upper arms, and his free hand rested in her hair. They tasted the apples on each others' lips as they stayed in place for several seconds. It was another perfect moment for them as the sun was close to being completely concealed by the buildings and foliage. They separated after seemingly an eternity passed; Chuckie gazed into Shenzi's eyes, or eye, as they/it sparkled in the leftover sunlight. His hand rubbed her blushing cheek as his thumb rested under her eye, feeling her long eyelashes. "You're so beautiful," He whispered lovingly, before pecking her lips.

She shyly averted her gaze as she gently held his wrist. "Am I really?" She quietly asked him.

"Yes you are," He nodded, "Any princess, queen, and supermodel in the world pales in comparison to you. Now, say it."

"Say what?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Say you're beautiful," He clarified. When she looked hesitant, he brushed her silky locks affectionately. "You can do it."

"I..." She paused, "I'm beautiful."

"There you go," He stroked her cheek with his thumb with a loving smile. He gently rubbed his nose on hers, so she blushed deeper and reciprocated the romantic gesture. "I just wish you wouldn't let anyone's insults get to you, and that you wouldn't put yourself down. It just breaks me to think that you believe that you're anything but the prettiest girl in this whole, cruel world."

"I don't mean to," She mumbled timidly, "It's just hard to ignore them."

"I understand," He assured her, "But... maybe you can try? For me?"

She stayed silent for a few seconds, before speaking again. "I, I'll try."

"Atta girl," His smile grew back, as he rested his forehead on hers. "Like I said, you're the loveliest, prettiest girl in the whole world. Don't let anyone make you think otherwise."

"I won't," She assured him with a genuine smile.

"Good," He smiled back, before they kissed for almost a full minute. Her soft, tiny hands laid on his blushing cheeks, as his laid on her shoulders. After they separated, he noticed how late it was getting. After Shenzi shifted off his lap, he stood on his feet. "I uh, I have to get going."

"See you later," She smiled up at him, with the basket on her lap as she took off his hoodie and gave it back to him.

"You too," He grabbed a green apple out of the basket, and prodded her nose, making her giggle. "Remember what I said; Don't let anyone put you down. I don't know what I'd do if you change yourself. You're the apple of my eye, and always will be." He winked at his pun, getting more cute giggles out of her. He kissed her cheek, and brushed her chin affectionately. "Bye, Shen." As he bit into the juicy fruit, he walked away from the house, and in his car before he drove away, waving to his lovely girlfriend along the way.

Shenzi sighed dreamily as she waved at Chuckie, and watched him drive away. She grabbed a green apple out of the basket, and smiled down at it. With a loving smile, and a delicious bite in her mouth, she walked back in her house.

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 **(A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this first story. You know the disclaimer.)**


	2. B: Best Friends

**(A/N: Here's B! Enjoy!)**

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 **B- Best Friends**

Summary: Shenzi Tuck and Chuckie Finster have been best friends since their toddling days. Will their friendship last forever? 

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On a nice day at the park, 2-year-old Chuckie Finster was swinging on the swingset as he laughed with joy and excitement. Who was pushing him? Why, 2-year-old Shenzi Tuck was, of course. These two toddlers were best friends. Their parents even predicted that they would get married in someday in adulthood; That's how close they are.

After around a minute, Shenzi stopped pushing Chuckie, so they switched positions; She sat on the swing, while he stood behind her, and gave her a good, hard push. Her long, black hair and green, flowy skirt blew in the breeze as she swung back and forth. "Hey Chuckie?" She glanced down at the young redhead.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think our daddies meant by us getting married? What does married even mean?"

"I'm not sure," He replied, "But it has to be something nice; I mean, they always look happy when they talk about it."

"Do you think it's something big?"

"I dunno," He shrugged.

"I hope it doesn't ruin our friendship," She said timidly.

Chuckie laid his hands on her back so she stopped swinging. "You think I won't be friends with you anymore?" She simply shrugged. "That won't happen," He assured her, "We'll be best friends forever; I know it."

"You promise?" She turned to him, with her pinky finger out. "Pinky promise?"

He wrapped his pinky finger around hers in a sealing. "Pinky promise." They then decided to ditch the swings, and headed for the playset with the slide and the jungle gym.

l-l

Years passed, and surely enough, Shenzi and Chuckie's strong friendship remained intact through it all. They trudged through preschool, kindergarten, and grade school side-by-side. He supported her when she started wearing glasses after turning 4, and was self-conscious about them. They had each other's back when they started wearing braces on their teeth, albeit at different, yet close times. He was a bit puzzled when she started wearing black all the time, but he accepted it. After she turned 10, she cried to him when she was bullied for her two-colored eyes. Her left is blue, while her right is green; They were inherited from her biological father, who may as well not exist. Why, you ask? You'll find out soon. Anyway, although he was able to comfort her, she started hiding her blue eye with her long bangs to look more normal.

Now, around 10 years later from that day in the park, they were still as close as they always had been. And as they grew, they started having strange feelings. Feelings such as butterflies in their chests when they were around each other. Shenzi suddenly had the urge to grab Chuckie's face, and kiss his pink, pouty lips until she and him were both out of breath. She wanted to sleep on top of him like he was a mattress. She wanted to run her fingers through his soft, red hair. She had the desire to kiss every adorable freckle on his smooth cheeks.

Chuckie was no different. Anytime he saw her, there was suddenly a sparkly background behind her, like in Japanese cartoons that his sister Kimi enjoyed, and an imaginery breeze blew her hair and clothes around as her eyes, or eye sparkled. She had grown into a beautiful young girl. He had the desire to run his fingers through her silky, black locks and caress her smooth, flawless cheeks with her soft, tiny lips against his. He wanted to hold her close, and never let her go. He wanted her to be his forever.

He could see it now; The perfect moment. She smiles up at him as he brushes her dark hair from her lovely face. With their eyes closed and their lips puckered, they start moving for the kiss when...

"You really think that's true, Tuck?" A female, slightly muffled voice snapped him out of his fantasy. He pressed his ear to the girls' bathroom door, and listened to the conversation.

"Yes I do," He heard Shenzi's voice from inside the restroom.

"There's just no way. Nobody wants to be friends with a weirdo like you. No one wants to be around you, Tuck. Not even gorks, those sad few beyond geek."

Chuckie's eyes widened in shock and anger. How dare she say that to her! His best friend! Without hesitation, he burst into the restroom. "Hey!" He shouted, getting both girls' attention. "You have a lot of nerve talking to my best friend like that!"

"You don't talk to me like that, geek," The preppy-looking girl crossed her arms at him as if she was an authority figure.

"I don't care!" He snapped, "You have no right to tell someone that no one likes them, especially when it's not true!"

"Watch me, geek." The bully turned to Shenzi, who already looked emotionally hurt. "You're fat and ugly, Tuck." Chuckie's blood boiled with fury as his hands clenched into fists. "If you killed your little pathetic self, then nothing would change for the worst." After flashing a smug smile at the boy, she exited the restroom like nothing happened.

When her back was to him, Chuckie swung a punch in the air directly behind her while seething with anger. He looked at Shenzi, and his heart broke at how emotionally shattered she clearly was. He walked up to her, but she backed away from him. "Shen, don't let her words get to her. She's wrong, and you know it." He attempted to walk closer to her, but she kept backing away; This repeated until she was against the wall. Before she could scoot to the side, Chuckie grabbed her shoulders. "Shenzi, you can't let a horrid person like her tell you lies like that! She's wrong about nobody liking you, or wanting to be around you. Why do you think I've been best friends with you for a decade? Because you're a sweet, wonderful, fun girl who is a delight to be with." Since when was he this smooth with words? After some shuddering breaths, she buried her face in his chest and her tears soaked his shirt. Chuckie hugged her firmly, and rubbed her back as she released heart-wrenching sobs of emotional pain. How could anyone be so cruel? Didn't they care about how much they were hurting those they looked down on? He just couldn't understand it.

He looked down when she drew away a bit, and wiped her tears away. "Ch-Chuckie?" She hiccuped.

"Yeah?" He brushed away a stray tear.

"Promise me that we'll be best friends forever," She requested pitifully.

He smiled warmly at her as he petted her hair affectionately. "I promise."

"P-pinky promise?" She held up her hand, with her pinky out. This became a regular thing between them; Whenever their friendship was questioned, or if what of them was miserable for anyone, they would do this to keep their friendship intact.

He linked his pinky with hers to seal the vow. "Pinky promise." His heart fluttered when a small, but genuine smile grew on her face. "You want to get to lunch?"

"Sure," She nodded, wiping away any extra tears, "I'm getting hungry." Hand-in-hand, the two headed for the cafeteria.

l-l

Years passed by, and before long, the two best friends were graduating. They also have been a romantic couple for 4 years now. Shenzi was still bullied by those claiming that no one wants to be around her, and Chuckie had the same treatment, but they defended each other every time. After a while, there was a fun party at the school thrown for the graduates to celebrate their accomplishments.

Chuckie couldn't help but admire his beautiful girlfriend as she wore a white vintage dress with thin straps, black tulle under the short, slightly flared skirt, and black lace accents. She was also wearing black and white vintage ballet flats with a thin ankle strap, black bow front-and-back earrings, a thin black headband with a big bow on it, a single white extension in her long bangs, and multiple extensions elsewhere in her tresses that faded from black to ivory. She looked like an angel as her eyes sparkled with excitement under her black cat-eye prescription eyeglasses.

When she was looking away from him, he quietly walked up behind her, and sneaked a quick kiss on her cheek. She jumped and gasped a bit, but calmed down when she saw it was her loving boyfriend. "Chuckie," She giggled, "You scared me."

"Sorry Shen," He chuckled, "I couldn't resist."

She blushed as she once again realized how much Chuckie had grown over the years. He had a growth spurt a while back, so he almost towered over her, he had his braces taken out at around the same time as she had hers out, when he was 15 and she was 14, and his red hair barely reached his shoulders, whether it was wet or not, although it was still wild. But he still had his purple geometric glasses, his adorable freckles, and most of all, his boyish charm. In her opinion, he had become a very sexy boy over time, especially with that hair. He deserved better than her; She was positive about that. He didn't deserve to be burdened by someone as ugly and unattractive as her.

She didn't realize how solemn she looked from these thoughts until Chuckie came back up to her from the food table. "Hey Shen, I brought you a... what's the matter?" He frowned in concern.

"N-nothing," She stammered.

"Is it really nothing?" He raised an eyebrow at her. She was a terrible liar, and he knew it. "You can tell me what's troubling you. You can trust me."

"Promise you won't be mad?"

"I promise."

"Well, um... I, I just feel like you can do better than me," She confessed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you can get a girlfriend more attractive than me," She clarified.

Chuckie shook his head as his expression turned serious. "No, I can't."

"Yes you ca..." She was cut off by his hands on her shoulders.

"I can't get a girlfriend more attractive than you, because that girlfriend doesn't exist. You're the prettiest girl in our whole school... _former_ school, if not whole town, and I know that I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have you as my girlfriend."

She let a shy smile grow. "Y-you really mean that?"

"I meant every word," Chuckie caressed her blushing cheek with a loving smile, "Now, can you promise me that you'll never put yourself down again?"

"I promise," Her smile grew.

"And another thing."

"Yes?"

"Promise me that no matter what happens... we'll always be best friends."

Her shoulders raised up for a split second. "I promise."

He held up his right hand with his pinky out in a familiar way. "Pinky promise?"

She wrapped her thin digit around his. "Pinky promise." She then stood on her toes, and kissed his lips. He stroked her hair as her hands cupped his cheeks.

l-l

"Have you two your vows?"

Chuckie smiled down at his bride. "Shenzi Tuck, there's no other way to say this: I love you so, so much." He brushed her cheek under her white veil. "I would've given anything to be your husband, and now... I," He stammered, making her smile grow, "You're the love of my life, my soulmate, my best friend, you name it." He slipped a ring on her tiny, right ring finger.

"Chuckie Finster," She started with a shaky breath, "I love you, always have, and always will. That one day in the park, 20 years ago, when you promised that we'd be best friends forever..." She didn't know what to say for a second, as his smile grew. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo, that she got a bit distracted. "I had no idea that we'd end up where we are. I mean, we were 2 years old." He nodded in agreement. "But... I promise that we'll be best friends now and forever." She put a band on his right ring finger.

"Chuckie Finster, do you take Shenzi Tuck to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to take care of for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," He smiled lovingly at his bride.

"Shenzi Tuck, do you take Chuckie Finster to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to take care of for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," She smiled up at Chuckie, with emotional tears in her eyes.

"Then by the power vested in me..." The couple of the hour linked their pinky fingers together after she unveiled her face. "I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." With that, Shenzi practically jumped on Chuckie and planted her lips on his as the guests cheered and cried tears of joy for them. She lifted one leg up and supported her weight on him as they stayed connected. When they separated, she hugged him tightly with tears spilling. Chuckie wiped them away as he was feeling emotional himself.

At the reception, Shenzi laid on Chuckie's shoulder as they slow-danced in their first dance as husband and wife. He carefully laid his head on hers, as he held her closer. She was seriously beautiful in her short, but elegant white dress; She was like an angel. No, not like, _was_ an angel. She was _his_ angel, forever and a day. "I love you so much," He whispered in her ear over the romantic music, and kissed her head with a hand in her hair.

"I love you too," She whispered back. "Hey um, Chuckie?"

"Yes, my love?"

Her heart fluttered at his response. "Um, p-promise me that we'll be best friends forever through this scary thing called life."

He chuckled a bit. "I promise."

She held one hand up, and sure enough, her pinky was out. "Pinky promise?"

He smiled lovingly at her as he wrapped his finger around hers. "Pinky promise."

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 **(A/N: Well, I hope this one was good! You know the disclaimer. I've already got an idea for C, just a little heads-up.)**


	3. C: Cuddles

**(A/N: I already had Cuddles for C in mind, but I didn't know how to work with it, so celrock gave me this idea. Thanks, celrock! Enjoy! I hope...)**

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 **C: Cuddles**

Summary: When Shenzi's feeling down, what can comfort her? Cuddles with her boy Chuckie, of course! 

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The Tucks walked in their house, looking and feeling very despondent. They had just come home for a funeral; But not just for any person. It was for Shenzi's maternal grandmother, who in Shenzi's words was "her only blood relative who loved her." She was not at all fond of her daughter Maya hooking up with Jack Johnson, Shenzi's blood father, and for a very good reason. He was a sexist jerk who only wanted a son.

Whenever her beloved granddaughter visited her at the senior center, she would tell her stories about Maya and her older sister, whom Shenzi was named after. She always loved hearing those stories, but now... she'll never hear them again. As her parents and older stepsister gathered in the living room, she trudged upstairs without a word. They didn't stop her, though; They understood why she was taking this death the hardest. Because now, when it comes to blood relatives, she had no one. Her biological father was still alive, but he may as well not exist, so they cancelled him out.

Shenzi didn't bother to change out of her funeral clothes, which consisted of a black v-back skater dress with buttons on the back, a black cropped short-sleeved cardigan, black opaque tights, black rose earrings, a black rose cameo ring, and black short combat boots. In her long, ebony hair, which was extension-free, was a black veil fascinator clip that made her look as depressed as she truly was. After removing the clip and ring, she flopped face-down on her bed and stayed tranquil. She wasn't going to cry anymore; She cried enough at the funeral, so she was done. She was going to stay strong. Truthfully, she lost count of how many times her adoptive father had to comfort her during the funeral.

Shenzi didn't know how long she had been laying on her bed; Hours passed by and she didn't move a muscle. Her family passed by her bedroom to check on her, but let her have her alone time to heal. It would take a while, but she would manage; She was a strong girl under all her shyness.

When she heard the doorbell ring, she let out a groan. She really didn't want to see anyone right now, not even... "Hi Chuckie," She heard Frankie's solemn voice. "Um, this-this isn't really a good time."

"What's wrong?" She heard his voice.

"Well, y-you see..." Frankie hesitated, "Sh-Shenzi's maternal grandmother died," She finished quietly. Shenzi squeaked in despair from the words alone.

She heard Chuckie gasp a bit. "Ohhh. I, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. But the thing is, now that she's gone, Shenzi has no blood relatives to turn to." Shenzi clutched her bed covers tightly.

Chuckie's heart swelled with sympathy. He now wanted so badly to cheer up his best friend, but how? Judging by what made her sad, it was going to be very difficult; He once accompanied Shenzi on one of her visits to the center, where he learned how close they were. Her grandmother loved him, and thought he was the perfect boy for her little granddaughter. Tears welled up, but he blinked them away. "Wh-where's Shenzi?"

"In her room," Frankie replied, "But I don't think she wants to see anyone."

"It's worth a try," Chuckie headed up the stairs, "I hate even thinking of her being sad. I want to make her happy again."

"G-good luck," The young blonde stammered. When he arrived at Shenzi's bedroom, the door was just barely closed all the way. He grabbed the knob, and gently knocked on the wood. "

Who is it?" He heard Shenzi's heavy, muffled voice.

"It's Chuckie," He replied.

"Go away," His heart broke at that, but he was determined to cheer her up. He opened the door further and walked in the room, his heart breaking more at the sight of his best friend face-down on her bed. She was eerily quiet as well; He almost thought she was asleep. When he carefully sat in front of her, she pushed herself up with her hands. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were filled up with tears that refused to spill. She stayed quiet as they gazed at one another. Thankfully for him, she didn't tell him to leave again. Chuckie didn't know how she was staying this strong after such a tragic event. She was a real trooper.

But he could see that her shield was slowly, painfully breaking. "Y-you can cry," He stammered with a gentle hand on her shoulder, "It's okay." Sure enough, with a heart-shattering sob, she buried her face in his chest and let it all out. Tears leaked from his own eyes as Chuckie hugged her tightly. He rubbed her back, and stroked her hair when her hand gripped his shirt firmly. He was rocking her a bit as well. He tightened his hold on his best friend when her breath was shaky. His eyes squeezed shut a bit in depression as he listened to her heart-wrenching cries; What could he do to make her happy again? He was stuck on ideas. Losing a relative was very hard, especially when you were very close with that relative, and he didn't know how to mend her broken heart.

Chuckie kissed the side of Shenzi's head as her sobs didn't cease after several minutes. He remembered going to the senior center with her one time, and meeting her grandmother. She was one of the sweetest women he ever met, and she seemed to like him. He recalled her thinking that he was perfect for her granddaughter, which he secretly agreed on. As the memory ran through his mind, tears fell at a faster pace as his breath started feeling shaky. "I-I'm so sorry," He whispered, his voice cracking a bit in the end. He carefully rubbed his head on hers in attempts of comfort. When she was sad before, cuddling with him always made her feel better. "I'm here, baby. I'm here for you." Baby? Where'd that come from? He never called her pet names like that before, ever. He stroked her hair some more as her cries were starting to quiet down, although her breath still shuddered and pitiful whimpers escaped. When he looked down at her, she was now laying one side of her head on his chest, on the wet spot from her tears, so he could see her face. She looked so miserable, it shattered his already broken heart. He rested his forehead on hers as tears fell from their eyes and down their damp cheeks.

"Y-you're okay," He stroked her hair and caressed her cheek. "You'll get through this, I know it."

"I-I don't think I can," She shook her head.

"Yes you can," He insisted.

"You don't understand!" Her sudden raise in volume startled him. "My grandmother was the only one of my blood relatives who actually loved me after my mother died!"

"I-I know, but..."

"Now I have no one!" Her face fell in his chest again.

"Shen, you don't have no one," His hands laid on her back as she stayed surprisingly quiet, "Your family downstairs is here for you. They may not be your blood relatives, but they've been there for you, for your whole life. And also... I'm here for you. I may not related to you in any way, but I'm not leaving you anytime soon."

"P-promise?" She hiccuped pitifully.

"I promise," He rubbed her back in comfort, and planted a kiss in her soft, dark hair. "Um, i-if your grandmother was here right now, she wouldn't want you to be sad. You know how she hates seeing you sad, as do I. She'd want you to celebrate her life, with your family."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her left hand. "Y-you really think so?"

"I know so," He replied. She regained her composure a bit more.

"Th-thanks, Chuck," Her voice cracked a bit.

"No prob," He wiped her tearstains away. His heart fluttered when a small smile grew on her flushed face. "There's that smile." He kissed her forehead. "Y-you want to go downstairs with your family?"

"S-sure," She nodded, so hand-in-hand, the two friends walked down the stairs and in the living room, where her family was sitting quietly. They looked up upon hearing their footsteps, and saw them. They saw the wet spot on Chuckie's shirt, but didn't question it; It was pretty clear how it got there.

"How're you doing, Shen?" Frankie solemnly asked her little sister.

"Well, even I'm still very sad... I do feel better," Shenzi quietly replied, "Th-thanks to Chuckie." The said boy smiled down at her.

"Well, we're glad you're feeling better," Felicia smiled sadly, "The loss of a close relative is very hard to deal with, whether they're biological or not." The others nodded in agreement. "But just remember, Shen; Even though we don't share blood with you, we'll always be here for you." Frankie and Friar Tuck nodded again.

Shenzi's smile grew as fresh tears welled up. "Thanks, guys." She hugged all three of them in turn, with a smiling Chuckie watching. She was going to make it through this tragedy, he knew it. She was a strong girl.

After a while, the two friends went back upstairs and sat on her bed. Shenzi laid on Chuckie's chest, finding comfort in his embrace. "You um, you still doing okay?" He asked her.

"I guess," She shrugged. "I-I just can't believe she's gone."

"That's understandable. But... are the dead really ever gone? She'll always be with you, Shen. Right here." At "here", he prodded her chest where her heart was.

"True," She shrugged, "But... I just... I don't know. I'll never be able to talk to her again." Her breath shuddered again.

"Shh, it's okay," He stroked her hair in comfort, and rested his forehead on hers, "It's okay." He hugged her firmly when she buried her face back in his chest, but didn't make a sound. "You're strong; Like I said earlier, you'll make it through this." After carefully laying on his side with her, he started cuddling his head on hers. "You'll be okay." He ran his fingers through her dark tresses as her breathing was starting to settle.

Shenzi relaxed in his hold as her eyes started burning a bit from fatigue. Why did she find his embrace so comforting? She cuddled in his shoulder a bit, with her arms around his midsection.

Chuckie smiled when he felt her movements. He held her closer, and stroked her hair as he laid his head still on hers. He hated seeing his best friend as sad as she was when he first came to the house earlier that day. She even initially wanted him to leave! He knew that she was very upset if she didn't want even him around, although it was only for a moment. When she was sad, so was he. Same with anger, but he loved seeing her happy. When she was happy, he was too.

When he looked down at her, he saw that she had drifted off into a peaceful sleep, despite still wearing her funeral clothes, although her boots were now on the floor. He was about to release his hold on her and tell her parents, but he decided against it. They'd find out eventually, right? Besides, he didn't want to leave her. So instead, he laid his head on hers again, and stayed quiet. He scratched her back soothingly over her sweater and dress as she moaned in her sleep a bit. "You're okay, baby," He whispered again, "I'll stand by you, forever." He kissed her hair before he drifted off to sleep in his day clothes, including his glasses.

When Frankie passed by the room, where the door was wide open, she stopped walking at what she saw; Chuckie was sleeping peacefully with her baby sister in his arms. She saw her hoisery-covered legs behind his, and her boots on the floor, along with the redhead's sneakers. She smiled at the sweet scene; Chuckie was truly the perfect boy for her sister. He was able to comfort her in minutes, whereas for her family, it seemingly took hours. How did he do it? Frankie had to know! She yearned to comfort her baby sister when she needed it, but she just didn't know how. She wasn't that good with soothing words.

Deciding to leave them be, she walked downstairs and told her parents that the two friends were sleeping. They were happy to hear that she wasn't crying anymore, and that Chuckie managed to comfort her.

Shenzi Tuck was going to make it through life, even with this tragedy stuck in her mind. Especially with Chuckie Finster by her side.

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 **(A/N: I hope you enjoyed this one. You know the disclaimer. I already have an idea for D.)**


	4. D: Damage

**D: Damage**

Summary: Shenzi is causing some physical damage. Not to her family, not to her friends, but to herself! Can Chuckie and their friends snap her out of it before she could go too far? 

**Warning: Contains self harm, the reason for the collection's change in rating. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

* * *

 _"Nobody likes you."_

 _"You may as well kill yourself."_

 _"You'll do the world a favor."_

 _"You're a disgrace to your family."_

 _"Chuckie's only pretending to like you. He's actually embarrassed to even know you exist."_

The horrible words ran through 13-year-old Shenzi's mind as she sat on the bathroom floor. The last two statements really hit hard when they were said to her; Chuckie Finster was her best friend since their crawling days, and she happened to have a huge crush on him. It most likely sprouted before she even knew what a crush was. After those words were said to her, she laid face-down in her bed, completely tranquil. While not looking, she grabbed the first object her hand felt and squeezed hard on it to relieve her tension. That object happened to be a pair of scissors, and she didn't grab the handles. Startled from the sudden sharp pain, she shot up and saw her hand bleeding from the blades. But strangely, other than her first reaction, she didn't feel any concern or fear. She felt... comfort.

That was 4 years ago, and yet she never stopped cutting. She somehow found comfort in the pain she caused. She knew how risky and stupid it was, but for some reason, she couldn't stop. Although instead of scissors, she used razor blades. The words said to her had cut deep, and stayed in her brain all these years. And she managed to keep it under wraps, so her family and friends were completely unaware. But soon... that was going to change.

One night, after changing into a black and red buffalo plaid nightgown with long sleeves, she did what became her nightly routine; She hid in her room, took the razor blade, and cut her emotional pain away. She wrapped her arm in gauze that she stole from her mother's first aid kit, hid them with her sleeve, and went to bed as if nothing happened.

The next day, she wore long sleeves, despite it not being that cold out, and went about her day like normal to avoid suspicion. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt with slashes on the sleeves and chest, a white and black lips-printed crop top cut from a bodysuit under it, a black velour hoodie from Juicy Couture, matching boot-cut velour pants, all black Converse high-tops, black rose earrings, and a white extension in her long bangs.

"You fall down the stairs again?" Lil DeVille asked her while they were in the cafeteria with their friends. The gauze was visible from the slashes on her sleeve, but she didn't think anyone would notice.

"Huh?" Her head snapped up, "Oh um, y-yeah, I did. Clumsy me," She giggled nervously.

"You seem to be injuring the same arm every time, almost in the same place, yet your other arm is completely unharmed," Chuckie remarked, "You sure you're being honest with us?"

"Yeah!" She nodded nervously, "I am! Completely honest! Wouldn't lie once! Get off my back!" Now feeling pressured, she grabbed her lunch tray and changed tables, leaving the others puzzled.

"That was wack," Phil DeVille remarked.

"Yeah, I've never seen her freak out like that," Tommy Pickles remarked, then turned to Chuckie, "Especially towards you."

"Something's got to be bothering her," The redhead assumed, "Usually she's calm and happy, not prone to bursts of anger like that."

"Where's Shenzi at?" Frankie asked them as she sat at the table, "I had to use the little girl's room."

"She was sitting here, but I asked her about the bandages on her right arm, and she freaked out on us and changed tables," Lil explained.

"Really?" The blonde raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That doesn't sound like her."

"Well, that's what she did," Chuckie shrugged, "We all saw her. She just yelled at us to "get off her back", then changed tables. She's over there." He gestured to a formerly empty table, where a nervous Shenzi was sitting by herself.

"I'll talk to her when we get home," Frankie decided, "You all can come."

"Okay, I will" Chuckie nodded, and everyone else agreed, "I hope she's alright." Secretly, he had a crush on the black-haired girl, ever since... forever. He thought she was the sweetest, and most beautiful girl in the whole world. He actually had dreams and fantasies of marrying her, and starting a family with her. He even thought of her as the love of his life. Overall, she was amazing.

* * *

After arriving home, Shenzi quickly hid in her room with the door locked. She had overheard her friends' conversation, and was terrified when she heard Frankie decided on talking to her about the bandages. She didn't want to tell them, or anybody! They'll make her stop! And it was the only thing that took her pain away! Without this addiction, she'll have nothing to help her. Her friends wouldn't understand, and Chuckie didn't like her. As Savannah Shane told her, he was embarrassed to acknowledge her existence, so turning to him was definitely out of the question. So she had only one choice left: Hide in her room forever, and cut herself until she died from excessive blood loss.

After relieving some stress with physical pain, she flinched upon hearing gentle knocks on her door. "Shenzi?" It was Frankie. Uh oh! She stayed still and quiet. "Shenzi? You in there?" She didn't make a peep. "Hello?" Nothing. "Shenzi, I know you're in there! Open up!" Frankie sounded angry. The emo girl flinched when her sister attempted to open the door, but to no avail. "Shenzi, unlock this door! I need to talk to you!"

"No!" She accidentally blurted out.

The door jiggled harshly. "Shenzibeth Callie-Belle Tuck, open this door _now!_ " Uh oh. She used her full name; She meant business. "I'm not playing! Open up right now, or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Or I'll bust the door down!"

"I dare you!"

"Alright, you asked for it!" Shenzi heard a harsh bang on the door, followed by a yelp of agony. She stifled involuntary laughter at that, but a string of blood ran down her arm from her hand over her mouth. She quickly wiped it up with a Kleenex wipe upon noticing. She jumped when there was another bang on the door, but it sounded stronger.

"Shenzi, open up!" She froze at the voice addressing her; It was Fridge Kaminski. He was like the big brother she never had, but at the same time, she found him intimidating. He was the jock extraordinaire at their school, and he definitely had the look for it. But under that intimidation was a platonic/familial love for his sister figure.

"No!"

"I'll bust the door down!"

"I'd like to see you try, Kaminski!" She hated yelling at him like this, but she had to keep them out. She jumped at another bang on the door, and to her terror, it was starting to break. He was stronger than she thought.

"This is your last chance!" Her heart pounded at that voice; It was Chuckie! "You can open up on your own, or we will!"

She didn't want to do either of those. Both would result in her secret being exposed, and being forced to stop cutting. "Try me, Finster!"

"You heard her," Chuckie said, to whom she didn't know, "Do it." And with that, Fridge successfully busted her door down! Before she could hide, Frankie jumped in and blocked the door with Kimi and Lil assisting. Chuckie, Phil, Fridge, Tommy, and Dil were in her room at the time. Phil had his arms around Shenzi's waist so she couldn't try to run. Normally Chuckie would've restricted her, but she gave him a look that could kill, so he backed off and let Phil step in. They all looked flabbergasted at what they saw on her arm; Especially Chuckie, who looked like he wanted to throw up. Even Fridge looked horrified.

When Frankie saw her arm, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in horror. She had cuts all over her wrist, some old and scarred, while others were much more new. The one was still bleeding. And they didn't look accidental in the slightest. Shenzi gave her a protesting gesture, but she screamed one word that she dreaded. " **DA-A-A-A-A-A-AD!** "

Her heart froze at the pounding footsteps coming towards the room. She managed to escape Phil's hold, but was then trapped in Frankie's. She struggled, but her older sister held her scarred arm out as Friar Tuck ran in the room after Kimi and Lil stepped aside. When he had the same reaction as Frankie, the emo girl gazed down at the floor defeatedly to hide the shame in her eyes, or eye. "Shenzi, what did you do?" He asked her, but she didn't answer. She barely even moved while Frankie held her bleeding arm out. "Shenzi?" She stayed quiet, and he was not happy about it. Not at all. "Answer me!" He snapped at her, and everyone except her flinched in surprise. She merely responded with a look that would've made any weak person pee themselves with fear. "Shenzibeth Callie-Belle Tuck, if you don't..."

"You wouldn't understand!" She snapped, startling everyone. "None of you would!" Everyone stayed quiet at her outburst. She sat on the foot of her bed, but didn't say a word.

"Shenzi, why are you doing this to yourself?!" Chuckie grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Why would you do something as stupid as cutting yourself?! You're smarter than this!"

"Don't talk to me, Finster," She growled angrily.

"Wha-what's wrong?"

"Why do you care?" Her eyes narrowed. "You're obviously embarrassed to know me. Why do you care about what happens to me?"

"Wha-wha I, what?!" Chuckie was at a loss for words. "Who said I'm embarrassed to know you?!"

"Savannah Shane."

"She's lying to you!" Chuckie snapped at her. "I would never be embarrassed to know you! You're the greatest friend I've ever had!"

"Don't lie to me," She glared.

"I'm not!" He yelled in frustration. "I would never lie to you! You're my best friend! If anything, I would be embarrassed to _not_ know you if I didn't!"

"And why are you cutting yourself?!" Frankie asked her.

"Because it takes the pain away!" Shenzi blurted out.

"You take away your pain with pain?" Phil raised an eyebrow. "And they say I'm the dumb one." He yelped in pain when Lil smacked him on the head, hard. "S-sorry."

"No," She shook her head, her voice now quiet, "You're right; I am dumb."

"No you're not," Chuckie went to sit next to her, but her menacing glare made him back away a bit. "There's a difference between being dumb, and acting dumb."

Fridge sat next to her, and luckily for him, she didn't try to kill him with her eyes. "Shenzi, there are betters ways to deal with emotional pain than hurting yourself on purpose." She looked up at him, but she didn't look angry. "The next time you're feeling the urge to... you know, just call me. I'll be there for you."

"We all will," Dil chimed in, as Frankie sat next to her sister, "It's what friends and family do."

Shenzi stayed quiet again. "Shen, don't listen to anything Savannah tells you," Chuckie laid his hands on her shoulders again, but was more gentle this time. "She has no right to say things like that to you, or to anyone." He continued when she didn't say a word. "And more importantly... please stop hurting yourself like this." He ran his fingers through her dark hair. "It pains me to even think about it." Everyone else agreed with him. "Like Fridge said, if you're feeling down, whether it's from a bully or anything else, just call any of us. We'll make you feel better."

Shenzi let out a sigh, before she finally spoke. "I, I'm sorry, guys."

"How long have you been doing this?" Friar Tuck asked her.

She hesitated for a second. "F-four years."

Chuckie's eyes widened, along with everyone else's. "Four?! Shenzi, you're lucky that you didn't go too deep! You could've died from blood loss!"

"Okay, she gets it," Lil cut in, "She knows now." She turned to Shenzi. "Right?" She nodded. "G-good. Now, one step in beating your addiction: Giving up the tool. Where is it?"

Shenzi hesitated, but stood up and took a bloodied razor blade out of a drawer. She reluctantly put it in Lil's hand. "You'll be alright," Chuckie laid a hand on her shoulder, and was relieved when she didn't protest. "We'll help you get through this."

"But don't think that I won't tell Mom," Frankie chimed in, and Shenzi nodded, "She'll help too."

"Th-thanks guys," She gave Chuckie a firm hug, along with everyone else in turn, being careful to not get blood on their clothes.

"Now, where's the gauze and tape at?" Tommy asked her, "Because that needs to be bandaged up." The emo girl grabbed the said items, gave them to the purple-haired boy, and sat on her bed. Tommy sat next to her and carefully, but tightly wrapped her wrist with some gauze, then secured it with tape. "There you go. Now it won't get infected."

"Thanks Tom," She smiled shyly. "Hey um, Ch-Chuckie?"

His heart skipped at her addressing him. "Yes?"

"Um, on-once I'm better, d-do you want to... get a hamburger?"

"You mean like... a date?"

She nodded. "Uh huh."

He let a shy smile grow. "I'd love to. But we don't have to wait. We can go whenever you're ready. Just call me."

"Will do." She stood up, and hugged him again.

* * *

Some time later, Shenzi met with Chuckie at the mall for their first, official date. "Shenzi, I-I'm glad you got over... you know what," He remarked as they ate their respective burgers.

"Me too," She smiled shyly.

"But like I said before, don't listen to Savannah or any of those mean girls, okay?"

"Okay." She blushed when he leaned forward, and gently kissed her cheek. She was wearing short sleeves, so the gauze was completely visible. She received a few stares, but ignored them, like how she was going to ignore any mean girls that tried to hurt her.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, I hope this was good! You know the disclaimer.)**


	5. E: Easter

**(A/N: I was given this idea by celrock, who also recommended the Rugrats episode mentioned in the summary. Enjoy! I hope...)**

* * *

 **E- Easter**

Summary: What if Shenzi Tuck was there during the events of "Bow Wow Wedding Vows"? 

* * *

At the Pickles house on a nice, warm day, Stu Pickles guided his two sons 1-year-old Tommy and 4-month-old Dil Pickles, twins 1 ¾-year-old Phil and Lil DeVille, stepsiblings 2-year-old Chuckie and 1 ½-year-old Kimi Finster, and newcomer 2-year-old Shenzi Tuck out in the backyard. The snow from winter was long gone, so the lush, green grass was visible again. "It's spring, kids! You can play outside again! Have fun!" He then went back in the house to let the kids have their fun.

They watched as the Pickles' family dog, Spike run around the yard. "Wow! Everything looks so purple!" Tommy remarked in awe.

"You mean blue, Tommy," Kimi kindly corrected him.

"Oh yeah; I uh, I always get my colors mixed up sometimes," He smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, it's not cold no more!" Chuckie pointed out, with Shenzi standing closely next to him, "Look, you guys; No juice bumps!" But he screamed in terror, and Shenzi ducked down when a butterfly landed on his arm. The insect flew by Dil, who laughed while he sat in his mobile baby chair.

"Look at all the prettyful flowers," Lil kneeled down, and pulled a pink one out of the ground. She sniffed it, and moaned in delight. "This is my favoritest kind!"

Phil sniffed another one just like hers, with a third in his other hand. "Mine too!" He then gobbled up both of them, as Spike ran up to them, and jumped on Tommy. Thankfully, the baby wasn't hurt.

"Shenzi, what're you doing?" Chuckie asked the black-haired girl when she was plucking multiple flowers from the grass.

"I'm picking flowers for my daddy," She replied. By now, the group of toddlers knew how close she was with her father. "I hope Tommy's mommy and daddy won't mind."

"I'm sure they won't mind," Tommy assured her after he threw a stick for Spike. "I bet your daddy will love those."

"You really think so?" She shyly glanced at the small bouquet in her hand.

"Of course he will," Kimi chimed in, "He loves everything you get for him, doesn't he?"

"Uh huh," She shrugged.

"Then he's gotta love those pretty flowers you picked by yourselfs," Kimi told her, "He's just gotta!"

Shenzi glanced at the flowers again, before smiling timidly. "You're right; What was I thinking?"

Later, as 3-year-old Angelica Pickles, Tommy and Dil's cousin, came in the yard, the toddlers were doing their own thing. Kimi and Shenzi were putting flowers in Chuckie's hair, the latter girl making sure her bouquet would stay intact, Phil and Lil were sticking flowers in the sand to make their own garden, and Tommy was playing with Spike. But when Spike saw his mate, the Finsters' new poodle Fifi, standing by his house, he debated on where to go, before choosing her. "Spike, wait! Come back! We was playing!" Tommy called out. "Here, Spike! Come here, boy!" But the brown dog didn't listen. "Spike! I wonder why he ran off with Fifi so quick."

"Maybe Fifi gived him some chores to do," Lil guessed.

"Or maybe their favoritest TV show is on," Chuckie assumed.

"Maybe she maked lunch for him," Shenzi chimed.

"Don't you babies know nothin'?" Angelica walked up to them. "It's so oblivious what's wrong with Spike. He's in love."

"Oh, well that explains it, then," Tommy nodded with Chuckie, but was now confused. "Huh?"

"Oh brother!" Angelica rolled her eyes. "I guess it's up to me to tell you about the birds and the fees." She then turned to Dil, and her voice lowered in volume. "Cover your eyes, shortie. You're too young to hear this." After Dil covered his eyes, she turned back to the toddlers. "You see, Tommy, Spike's falled in love with Fifi, and now he's forgotted all about you."

"That's not true!" Shenzi glared.

"Shut it, Tuck!"

"Okay," She shrunk back in fear.

Tommy walked up to Dil's seat. "I don't believe you, Angelica. Spike won't forgetted about me. He-he's my bestest doggy friend. We knowed each other since I was a baby."

"You _are_ a baby," Angelica drolly pointed out.

"Well, since I was a baby-baby then. Come on, guys." He started pushing Dil's seat, as his baby brother still had his eyes covered. "Let's go find Spike. He'll remember me." His friends agreed with him as they followed. They found Spike and Fifi laying in the grass by the former's house. "Hey, Spike. Come here, boy, come here! It's me, Tommy! Your bestest baby friend! Spike?" Neither of the dogs seemed to notice him. "Ol' buddy?"

"I know, Tommy!" Chuckie piped up. "Say some of the stuff you always say! Maybe that'll get Spike's memory goin'."

"Good idea, Chuckie. Um... uh, let's go on a venture!" Tommy tried, but was still unnoticed.

"That wasn't your bestest work, Tommy," Phil remarked.

"I didn't believe you really wanted to go an a venture at all," Lil added.

"Um, alright then, uh, a baby's gotta do what a baby's gotta do." Still nothing.

"That was a pretty good you," Chuckie commented.

"I'm still not buyin' it," Phil's arms crossed skeptically.

"When Daddy forgets stuffs, he ties stringies to his finger to 'member it," Lil told them.

"Ohh; Good idea, Lil! Let's go find some string!" The kids walked in the house, and came back in the yard with some pieces of yarn. While they searched, Shenzi hid her flowers in her black Saturn t-shirt when she saw her daddy, Friar Tuck in the house. She was thankful that her green tutu skirt was over her shirt, so the flowers didn''t fall out. They put the pieces on Spike as he slept with Fifi. "Good string finding, guys. Spike will be back to normen now." He walked up to the brown dog, and gently shook him. "Wake up, Spike. Wake up." But Spike just barely woke up, shook himself so the strings flew off of him, then went back to sleep. "I guess we forgotted to tie the strings."

"We never learndid how to tie strings," Lil shrugged.

Angelica walked back up to them. "Spike's never gonna remember you; He's in love."

"Hey! Wait a minute, Angelica!" Chuckie put his hands on his hips with a glare. "My mommy and daddy are in love, but they still 'member other peoples."

"Yeah!" Tommy added. "Same with my mommy and daddy!"

"Ours too!" The twins chimed in.

"And I know that if my daddy falls in love, he won't forget no one," Shenzi crossed her arms.

"Once you get married, you're not lovey-dovey, 'cause you're busy making babies and stuffs. It's like the song says: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes drivin' 'round a baby carriage! Get it?"

"Well Spike and Fifi already gots the lovey-dovey part," Chuckie pointed out, "So next is they gotta get married. And then Spike will 'member you, Tommy."

"But I told you guys! Spike didn't forget me!" Tommy exclaimed. Just then, Spike stood up, and started walking towards them. "See?" But turns out, he was just getting a drink from his water bowl. When he was done, he walked past Tommy and back in his house with Fifi.

"So, there's gonna be a wedding?" Lil wondered aloud.

"Yeah!" They all, except Angelica, cheered with joy.

"Ooh! A wedding!" She smiled excitely. "I'm in charge."

After a while, the "wedding" was ready to start. Angelica had Tommy as the preacher, or "speecher", Chuckie was to play music on a toy piano, and the twins were going to sing. "Wait!" Shenzi exclaimed. "What can I do?"

"Hmm..." Angelica tried to think, before spotting the flowers clutched in the younger girl's hand. "You and Kimi will be the flower girls."

"The what?"

"Oh brother! A flower girl is the girl who throws flower petals behind the bride and groom. And these..." She snatched the flowers out of her hand, "Will do just fine."

"Wait, no!" She tried to protest, but Angelica roughly pulled the petals off, and slapped them in Shenzi's palm as the toddlers gasped in shock. "Th-those were..."

"They're for to throw behind the bride and groom," The blonde interrupted her, "Now throw 'em!"

After glaring as menacingly as she could, Shenzi stomped up behind the dogs, threw the petals down with a grunt, then stomped away angrily with tears threatening to spill.

Angelica quickly forgot about her, but Chuckie watched the black-haired girl in concern. "3, 2, 8," She counted down, before the "ceremony" officially began.

"There is the bride! There is the bride!" Phil and Lil sang together through Chuckie's music. "Her name is Fifi, and she's getting married to Spike!" They fearfully stopped when Angelica gave them the signal.

After Angelica strolled off, Tommy walked up on the sandbox with a baby book, and cleared his throat. "Hello, Fifi and Spike. I'm your speecher, Tommy. Dearly bleblubbered..." One part of the book cover popped up, but he paid no mind to it. "We are here to see the marrien of Fifi and Spike. Fifi, if you take Spike to be your awful wedded groom, say "I do."" But Fifi licked Spike's cheek instead.

The toddlers minus Shenzi waited in anticipation, before Angelica turned to them. "Um, babies?" They turned to look at her. " _Dogs can't talk!_ " She was surprised upon hearing a bark from Spike.

"Spike, if you take Fifi to be your awful wedded bribe, uh, bark again." But the brown dog started gnawing at his right hind leg instead "Uh, or that. I now denounce you Fifi and Spike! You may now kiss the bribe!"

"Hit it, Finster!" Angelica commanded, and Chuckie started playing again.

"Good job, Fifi and Spike! Uh I mean, Mr. and Mrs. Fifi and Spike."

"Now let's see if he 'members you, Tommy," Lil said with hope.

"Sure he will!" But when Fifi walked away, Spike followed her. "Spike?" He dropped the book in despair. "I don't think it worked."

"Of course not, Tommy," Angelica walked up to him, "The wedding's not over yet. We've still gotta have the receptical."

Chuckie walked up to Shenzi, who still looked angry. "What's wrong, Shenzi?"

"An-Angelica ruined the flowers I picked for my daddy," She replied with a slightly heavy voice, "Now I have to pick them all over again." Her gaze lowered sadly.

"Well uh, I know what'll cheer you up." She looked up at him. "You want to play wedding with me?"

She blushed, but didn't know why, as she thought about it. "O-okay."

"We can ask Tommy to be our speecher."

She smiled shyly. "S-sounds good."

l-l

"Shenzi, if you take Chuckie to be your awful wedded groom, say "I do.""

"I do," She giggled, while holding a new bouquet of flowers.

"And Chuckie, if you take Shenzi to be your awful wedded bribe, say "I do.""

"I do," He chuckled timidly.

"Then I pronounce you Shenzi and Chuckie! You're now married! You may now kiss the bribe!"

Shenzi blushed deeper when Chuckie kissed her cheek. She had a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest, and she didn't know why.

"Babies and gentermen," Phil announced a while later as he wore novelty sunglasses, acting as a DJ, "Welcome to the Fifi and Spike wedding recek... respectical... resk... party! And now, the sappy couple, Mr. and Mrs. Spike! And now, their special song!" He pressed a button on the toy radio, so kiddie music started playing.

"Guys, it's not workin'," Tommy pointed out as his friends minus Shenzi danced, "Spike's not dancin'."

"Maybe he'll feel more like it after we give him his presents," Lil guessed, and everyone agreed.

They let Shenzi go first, but she simply put the plain stems in front of the dogs, not knowing what else to give. Kimi set a small, grey rock in front of them. "I hope you guys don't gots one already."

Phil placed a tiny fuzz ball next to the rock. "I got you some belly button lint."

"Oh no!" Lil exclaimed in distressed. "I gotted them belly button lint too!" Phil guided her away, so Tommy and Dil can go. Dil simply drooled in the grass in front of them after Tommy pushed his chair closer.

Tommy took a picture frame out from the front of his diaper. "Here's your present, Spike. Uh, 'member what good friends we are? See?" He turned the frame to reveal a photo of him with Spike. "We're lickin' each other, and we used to run, and jump, and roll around in the grass, and do all kinds of fun stuff." The dog yawned. "Oh, you just gots to 'member me, Spike! You just _gots_ to, 'cause... I miss you. Here, look." He held the frame up in front of Spike's face, and he started sniffing at it. "You guys! He 'members me!" But the frame fell down, and Spike paid no mind to it, to Tommy's disappointment.

"They got all gifts out! Wedding's over!" Angelica announced.

"You mean Spike's married now, but he still doesn't 'member me?"

"Tough break, Tommy. Maybe you should get a pet pony instead, and keep it at my house."

Shenzi rolled her eyes at her in annoyance. Just then, they all heard a familiar voice. "Chuckie, Kimi, Fifi! Time to go home!" Chaz called out. Shenzi watched sadly as the two stepsiblings and the poodle walked out of the yard. The Finsters left the house, and it seemed like Spike was following them.

Tommy watched sadly from the back door window. "He just movdid out with his new bride, and he-he didn't even bark goodbye."

"It's not goodbye, Tommy," Lil pointed out, "You'll see him at the Big Munch tomorrow."

"So what? He won't remember me anyways. I guess it is true. My bestest doggy friend forgotted all about me."

Later that night, before it was her bedtime, Shenzi laid awake in her big girl bed, lost in her thoughts. When she and Chuckie played wedding earlier, why did she feel so warm inside? Why did she want to be around him so constantly? Why did her face feel warm when he kissed her cheek?

After she was tucked in, she decided to worry about it tomorrow as she drifted off to sleep.

The next day, everyone gathered at the Finster house, with the Tucks coming last. When Chaz answered the door for them, while dressed in a purple bunny suit, Shenzi's eyes widened before she hid behind her daddy. "It's okay, Shenzi. No need to be scared of me."

"She's always been scared of full-body costumes like that," Friar Tuck explained to him as his daughter didn't budge, "Theme park characters, Easter Bunnies, Santa Claus, you name it."

"Ohhh. Well, sorry. Come on in. You might want to be careful in the living room, though."

"Why?" Both adults flinched when Shenzi let out a brief, but shrill scream. Turns out, Stu, Howard DeVille, and Drew Pickles were dressed up as well. She made a run for it to the backyard through the kitchen, after Kira hastily opened the door, and hid under a table.

Strangely, the rest of the gang didn't notice her, at first. She came out of hiding once she realized that it was safe. When she saw Chuckie looking worried, she walked up to him. "What's wrong, Chuckie?"

"I'm worried about Tommy," He replied, "He's not acting like hisself. And he's creeping me out."

When Shenzi saw Tommy, her eyes widened. "He's creeping me out too, now," She whispered to Chuckie.

"Let's go talk to him." They then walked up to the rest of their group.

"What's wrong with your face, Tommy?" Kimi asked him. He had a creepily wide, open smile that looked obviously fake.

"Looks like gas to me," Phil remarked.

"No, guys! I'm just real happy! Happy for Spike! Even if he doesn't 'member me!" The gang showed surprise, as they tried to confirm it. "Yep." Just then, they saw Spike running up to them. Tommy gasped before a genuine smile grew. "Spike!" But unfortunately, he just ran right past him, and marked his territory on the tree.

"So, how 'bout those Dummi Bears, huh?" Phil tried to change the subject.

"That's a prettyful dress, Shenzi," Lil complimented the black-haired girl.

"Thanks," She smiled back. For the brunch, she wore a black long-sleeved velvet dress with a purple rose sequin skirt, along with her usual black and white ruffled socks, classic Converse sneakers, and purple bow headband.

"It's okay, guys," Tommy assured them solemnly, "I'm happy. See?" His creepy, fake smile grew back; Chuckie and Kimi stared in uneasiness as Shenzi ducked behind the former.

The party pretty much went downhill from there, for a moment. After Chaz made an announcement about a "special guest", who was the party planner, Howard was almost attacked by a bee. When Stu tried to drive it away with a homemade bug repellent, it only attracted a swarm of bees. Chaz quickly guided the kids away to where they would be safe, suggesting that they start the egg hunt. Luckily, nobody was hurt.

"There's a eggy!" Tommy exclaimed after Stu and Howard ran off with the bees close behind. "Ah, that's the bestest eggy I ever seed!"

"There's one too," Chuckie pointed out. He went to grab it, but his hand landed on top of Shenzi's when she went to swipe it. They stared at each other before their hands drew away, as they blushed in embarrassment.

The kids stood around awkwardly, not knowing what to do next. "Want to go eat mud?" Phil asked them to break the silence.

"I thoughted you'd never ask!" Lil exclaimed, so she, Phil, and Kimi ran off to do so, leaving Chuckie, Shenzi, and Tommy.

"Um, are you sure you're alright, Tommy?" Chuckie asked him, "You seem a little too happy. Like _clown_ happy, and that's just scary."

"Yeah, you're creeping us out," Shenzi added with concern.

"I miss Spike," Tommy admitted after losing the smile, "I'm not happy! I'm real, real sad!" He then started crying. Shenzi and Chuckie walked up closer to him.

"It's okay, Tommy," Chuckie tried to comfort him, "Just use my sleeve as a hanky." Shenzi couldn't help but grimace when Tommy used Chuckie's shirt sleeve as a handkerchief.

The three were surprised when Spike came up to them. "Spike?!" Tommy was the most surprised of them all.

"Spike 'members you!" Shenzi exclaimed with joy.

"Um, I dunno," Tommy was feeling skeptical, "Maybe he's just mixing me up with somebody else he forgotted."

"No! He went right to you, Tommy!" Kimi pointed out as she and the twins walked up to them.

"He 'members you, Tommy!" Phil added. "Just like in the old days!"

"Yeah! Like yesterday!" Lil chimed in.

"I knew you'd remember me, Spikey! I knew it!" Tommy exclaimed with joy. "Because I never forgotted about you!" But Spike ran to the tool shed, and yipped at the toddlers with a gesture to follow him. "Uh, I think he wants us to follow him." As Angelica picked up eggs left and right, Spike led the toddlers to the tool shed and walked inside.

"That must be Spike's new house!" Chuckie exclaimed.

"Oh no! I hope nothing's wrong with Fifi!" Tommy expressed his concern.

But when they peeked in, they gasped in joy at what they saw right before them: Fifi, and a litter of newborn puppies! "Puppies!" They walked in for a closer look.

"Even Spike's gots a visit from the storkses!" Lil remarked.

"From a lot of storkses!" Phil pointed out.

"Alright, Spike and Fifi!" Tommy cheered for them, as Spike licked his cheek.

"Spike must've forgotted you for a little while, 'cause he had lots of other stuffs to think about, Tommy," Chuckie guessed.

"I think you're right. I wasn't losing my doggy friend. I was gettin' a bunch of new ones!"

"Wow!" Angelica pushed the twins' heads apart to have a look at the puppies. "See, babies? First is love, then marriage, and now they're gonna drive around the puppy carriage! What would you babies do without me?" When they all raised a hand, she groaned and walked away.

Shenzi giggled as she lowered her hand. "We got her."

Soon the adults gained a peek at the new arrivals, and fell in love with them immediately.

"I can't believe Spike's a daddy, you guys!" Tommy smiled with joy.

"And Fifi's a mommy!" Kimi added.

"And I'm the puppies' uncle!" Phil decided.

"Nuh-uh, Philip!" Lil protested. " _I'm_ the puppies' uncle!"

"You're gonna like having a baby, Spike," Tommy told his canine friend, "We're fun!"

Just then, Dil threw his rattle in the air, and it landed on Chuckie's head. "Ow!" He rubbed his head after Shenzi flinched back in surprise. "Well, _most_ of us." The toddlers laughed at his last statement. After the laughter died down, he realized that Shenzi seemed to be missing something. "Uh, Shenzi? Where are those flowers?"

She gasped in shock. "Oh no! I forgotted the flowers! I gotta go!" She ran around the yard, plucking flowers left and right at a hasty pace as the rest of the gang watched her. At one point, she slipped on an egg, but quickly recovered and continued her vital mission. When she came back to the tool shed, she was panting like she ran a marathon, but a fresh new bouquet was in her hand. "I, I gotted them," She panted, "Y-you guys know where my daddy went?"

"He's over there at the big table," Kimi pointed out to her.

"Thanks," She nodded, before walking, instead of running since she was tired, along behind the seated adults. Her heart skipped with excitement when she stopped at the last seat in the row, where Friar Tuck was sitting. She tugged on his sleeve, then quickly hid the flowers behind her back with an innocent grin.

"Hey Shen," He smiled down at her, "What's behind your back?" She averted her eyes to her left a bit, before holding the flowers to him. "Are those flowers for me?" She replied by holding them up higher, almost straining herself. "Oh, Shenzi. They're beautiful." He took the flowers, and set them on the table, so he could take them home and put them in a vase. "Thanks, sweetheart." He lifted his child up and she shyly blushed as he hugged her.

"Isn't that sweet?" Didi smiled at the scene. "She wanted to give you a present for Easter."

When Shenzi saw her friends watching in anticipation, she gave them a thumbs-up. "Her daddy liked the flowers!" Kimi cheered. "I knowed he would!"

"I did too!" Chuckie agreed.

That night, Shenzi laid in her bed, clad in her pjs with a happy face. Her flowers issue was solved, and ended successfully. Plus, Spike and Fifi had puppies! The entire day turned out great. She sat up upon hearing footsteps coming towards her room. She smiled when Friar Tuck entered the room. "Those flowers are set in a vase in the living room. You can see them tomorrow, but for now, you need to sleep. G'night, sweetheart." After tucking her in, kissing her cheek, and turning off the light, he left the room to let her rest. The toddler drifted off in a peaceful sleep under the cozy covers, as a nice, but very interesting dream started going on in her subconscious.

She was with Chuckie, but he was much older, and she was too! He was in what looked like a tuxedo, like what she wore to a wedding she attended earlier on, and she was in a fancy, white dress. Plus a bouquet of flowers was in her hands. "And by the power vested in me," She heard a preacher in front of them, "I pronounce you husband and wife." Say what? "You may kiss the bride." Hu-u-uh? When she stood in place from shock, older Chuckie leaned in and gently but lovingly kissed her lips with one hand on her cheek. And somehow, she knew what to do; She kissed him back, with her hands on his shoulders. The audience cheered for them as they separated.

All of a sudden, the scene changed; She was now in a hospital bed, and for some reason, felt completely out of breath. Older Chuckie was next to her, with one of her hands in his, while his other arm was... occupied. And she briefly heard the shrill cries of a... baby? "Shenzi, your baby is beautiful," He smiled down at her with love in his eyes, like how her father always looked at her. Wait, what?! _What?!_ _**HER**_ _BABY?!_ She was a baby herself! Or at least, she was supposed to be! How the heck can she have a baby?! "Do you want to hold her?" Her? It was a girl? In her shock, she nodded. Oops. She didn't know how to hold a baby! She didn't want to hurt anyone! Especially a baby! Chuckie helped set the newborn infant in her arms, where she got a good look. She had skin like Chuckie's, but a bit of a grey tint, dark red hair, a round, black nose like hers, and ears like his. "Isn't she lovely?" Chuckie stroked the baby's hair, and she simply nodded again. She blushed when she felt him kiss her slightly sweaty forehead. Why was she so exhausted? What was so exhausting about a stork delivering a baby? And where was the stork? "What should we name her?"

As Shenzi thought of it, her subconscious started fading... then she woke up! She gasped as her eyes shot open, and she quickly sat up. As she panted, she turned on her nightlight, and patted herself. She was relieved to know that she was a toddler again, but... what about Chuckie? Was he a toddler too? And was he here? "Ch-Chuckie?" She stammered, but didn't receive an answer. Somehow, that relieved her.

That was definitely a strange dream, but not a nightmare. It was strange, in a good way. Will she marry Chuckie in the future? Will they have a baby? Only the future knows.

* * *

 **(A/N: I hope this one was good! Along with giving me the idea for this oneshot, and the recommendation of the episode, celrock gave me the ideas of the alternate scenes where Shenzi and Chuckie play wedding, and Shenzi's dream. You know the disclaimer.)**


	6. F: Father's Day

**(A/N: I think this one turned out... decent. Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **F: Father's Day**

Summary: Feeling lonely on Father's Day, since Friar Tuck is out of town for business, Shenzi tries to bond with her blood father. It does not go well. 

* * *

18-year-old Shenzi Tuck laid face-up on her bed, feeling completely and utterly broken inside. She had made a huge mistake; Contacting her blood father, and convincing him to meet up with her. When she met him at the nearest Starbucks, she learned the cold, hard truth; He only wanted a son, not a daughter, and had made her blood mother, Maya choose between him and the baby. She chose Shenzi, and divorced him; That was the last she had seen of him.

After running home, she made a beeline for her bedroom, ignoring her mother and older sister's calls of concern, and ended up how she is now. "Sis?" Frankie peeked in after several minutes of tranquility. "You alright? What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Come on, Shen," She tried to insist, "I bet talking about it will make you feel... better..." She stammered nervously when Shenzi stomped up to the door, looking very angry. Not to mention badly, emotionally hurt.

" _I SAID I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK OF IT!_ " She shouted furiously, before swinging the door shut roughly.

Frankie jumped back at the loud slam, before she cautiously walked downstairs and in the living room, where Felicia was waiting for her. "Did you hear any of that?"

"I heard enough," Felicia shrugged, "Especially that door slam. I wonder what's wrong with her."

"I wish I knew," Frankie glanced upstairs, "She's never been this upset before."

"If only your father was here, and not on a business trip," Felicia remarked solemnly, "I think she would open up to him."

"Yep," The younger blonde agreed, "Who else does she have, though?"

"Hmm..." Felicia tried to think, "Hey, what about Chuckie? He is her boyfriend, after all, and I don't think he's busy. Maybe he can ease her into opening up."

"Yeah, you're right!" Frankie stood up. "I'll call him right now." She took out her phone, and scrolled through her contacts list. "I hope he's not busy. Oh! Um, h-hi Chuckie. I know this is kind of sudden, but can you come over here? Shenzi's very upset about something, and she won't tell me or Mom."

"Not that I want to help, because I really do, but what about your dad?"

"He had to go on a business trip."

"Ohh. Well alright, I'm on my way."

"'Kay, thanks." She then hung up. "He's on his way."

"Good," Felicia nodded, "He should be able to help her."

After only a few, short minutes, Frankie jumped off the couch when she heard knocks on the door. She opened the door, and her heart leapt with hope when she saw Chuckie on the porch. "Hi, Chuckie. Come on in." She stepped aside to let him walk in the house. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"No prob," He shrugged, "I hate even thinking of Shenzi being sad, let alone seeing it. I want her to always be happy."

"Same here," Frankie agreed, "She's up in her room."

"Okay, thanks." He walked up the stairs, and stopped at his girlfriend's bedroom door. He gently knocked on the door, not having the desire to barge in uninvited. "Shen? You okay in there?"

"Who is it?" He heard her heavy voice.

"It's Chuckie; Can I come in?"

"Go away." His heart sank at that. She didn't want to see him? She always loved being with him! She must've been _very_ upset.

"Come on, Shen," He gently insisted, "I'm sure talking about it will..."

" _I SAID GO AWAY!_ " He jumped back at her sudden scream. Now _this_ was definitely new. She never screamed at him for anything, ever! Unless she was happy. Whatever happened must have been really bad.

Getting over the slight scare, he walked back to the door, and gently knocked. "Shenzi, I want to help you. You can't stay upset forever. Can I please come in, and talk to you?"

"I want to be alone!"

Chuckie sighed. She sure was stubborn when she wanted to be. "Okay Shenzi, I'm coming in and helping you." Without holding back, he opened the door, and gingerly closed it after entering her room. When he looked at her bed, she was laying face-up with a pillow over her face. His heart broke at how depressing she looked, although at the same time, he couldn't help but blush at her outfit; a black, short-sleeved cardigan fully unbuttoned, short black combat boots, a black, sleeveless corset top with skulls and blue roses, a matching mini skirt, black rose earrings, a royal blue extension, and black boyshorts under her skirt, although he couldn't see the latter two. He could see a small strip of smooth, light purplish-grey skin on her flat tummy between her top and skirt as she laid still. "Shen?"

She moved her pillow down, revealing her flushed, tear-stained face, and stared at him silently. "Don't look at me." She covered her face again.

Chuckie carefully sat on her bed. "What's the matter, baby?" He rubbed her arm soothingly. "You can tell me."

"I'm a disgrace," He heard her voice, but he couldn't understand what she said.

"Wh-what'd you say? Sorry, I couldn't understand you."

"I'm a disgrace!" She threw her pillow across the room, as Chuckie jumped back again and ducked down.

"No you're not! What do you mean by that?"

"I'm a disgrace to my family." Her face was now hidden in her knees, but he understood her dialogue. "He said so."

"Who said so?"

"My father."

He shook his head in denial. "No. No way. I know your dad, and he wouldn't even think of something like that!"

"No," She shook her head, "I mean my blood father. He's a sexist jerk!" She threw down the first thing she grabbed without seeing what it was.

"Ohhh. What happened?"

"Well, y-you see," She sniffled and wiped her eyes, "I-I found his number, and convinced him to meet me at the Starbucks downtown." He nodded, indicating that he was listening. "But I didn't tell him who I was before I met up with him. And... a-after I told him at Starbucks, he told me the truth." She started choking up again. "He-he didn't want me. He wanted a son to play catch with. I said that I could've, but he didn't listen." Tears started falling. "He didn't want a daughter, and that be that. End of story." Her face dropped in her hands. "He said I'm a disgrace to my family!" Heartbreaking sobs escaped as her shoulders shook.

"Aww, Shenzi." Chuckie hugged her tightly, letting her cry in his chest. "You are not a disgrace, nowhere close to that. If anything, he's the disgrace for being so sexist. He doesn't deserve a wonderful daughter like you."

"But he deserves a wonderful son?"

"Absolutely not," Chuckie shook his head, "If he's going to be picky about his offspring's gender, then he doesn't deserve either one. If anyone deserves a daughter as wonderful as you, it's the father you have now, and for your whole life. Because from what I heard, he was and is amazing to you, your mother, and your sister."

Shenzi pulled away after a second or two, with fresh tears in her eyes. "Y-you really mean that?"

"I meant every word," He wiped her tearstains away, "And I know that when we get married, and if we have kids, I'll love every one of them, no matter the genders."

She let a small smile grow. "Thanks, Chuckie." She hugged him again with her head on his shoulder. "You're the best."

"My pleasure," He kissed her forehead over her bangs, "People like him make me sick. It's hard to believe that someone as amazing as you is related to him." He stroked her hair, and rubbed her back. "He doesn't deserve you in his life. He doesn't deserve your entire family in his life, and that includes your blood mother."

She stayed quiet for a couple seconds. "What should I do?"

"I say you throw away your blood father's number," Chuckie decided, "Or set it on fire. Either way, drive it out of your life."

"O-okay," She nodded, and hesitantly jumped on the floor. He watched as she crushed a piece of paper in her tiny hand, and intentionally dropped it in her trash can, then sat back on her bed with him. "There, it's done."

"Yep," He nodded, "Good work." He gently and playfully nudged her shoulder, getting another smile from her. "There's that smile." He kissed her lips for a second. "I never get tired of it, and never will." He pulled her into a loving embrace that would last several seconds.

"Thanks Chuckie," Shenzi said quietly, "Like I said before, you're the best."

"Aww, I'm not the best."

"Yes you are," She insisted, "You always know how to make me feel better when I'm upset."

"I'm your boyfriend," He shrugged, "I know everything about you. What you like, what you don't like, all that. And I hate seeing you sad. I just love seeing you happy and smiling." He poked her hips where they were revealed, makin her flinch and giggle. "See? Like that." He rested his forehead on hers. "Now, can you promise me something?"

"Anything for you, Chuckie."

His heart fluttered at her words. "Promise me that you won't beat yourself up when someone won't accept you. You know what they say: You can't please everyone."

"That is true," She shrugged, "I-I promise."

"Good," He smiled lovingly at her.

"And... I'm sorry for screaming at you earlier."

"It's okay, I understand. You were upset."

"Embarrassed too."

"Ah. Well, you feeling better?"

"I am," She replied.

"Good," He ran his hands up and down her arms soothingly, "Do you want to go downstairs? Your mom and sister are worried about you."

"Alright," She agreed, "Let's go."

Hand-in-hand, the two walked down the stairs and in the living room, where Felicia and Frankie were waiting for them. "Hey Shen," Felicia greeted her youngest daughter, "You feeling better?"

"Uh huh," She nodded.

"How do you do it, Chuckie?" Frankie asked the redhead.

"I dunno," He shrugged, "It just comes naturally. It's what boyfriends do: Cheer up their girlfriends when they need it."

"But isn't it a sister's job to cheer up their baby sister when they need it?" Frankie put her hands on her hips.

Chuckie stayed quiet for a second. "That is true," He chuckled, "Okay Frankie, someday I'll give you a crash course on how to cheer up this wonderful girl." He held Shenzi closer as she shyly blushed. "Who's in your room, Mi-I mean, Felicia?"

She giggled at his slip-up. "You'll see," She winked, and Frankie nodded. The two blondes' hearts leapt when the door opened, and they heard footsteps.

Shenzi's eyes widened and her jaw dropped a bit when she saw who came out of the room; It was Friar Tuck! "Da-Dad?!" She stuttered, before a wide smile grew. After Chuckie released his hold on her, she ran to her father, the one who loved her, and practically jumped in his embrace. "I thought you were out for business. How are you home early?"

"I convinced my boss to let me come back early," He told her, "I couldn't miss spending one of your favorite holidays with you."

"Aww," She laid her head on his shoulder, while her mother, sister, and boyfriend watched the sweet scene. "Th-thanks, Dad."

"Anything for you, sweetheart." He then remembered something Felicia mentioned earlier on. "Shenzi, your mom told me that you were having a little problem with something earlier today. You want to tell me?"

She felt hesitant for a second. "Um, wh-why don't I tell you, Mom, and Frankie all at once? They don't know it, as far as I know."

The family plus one gathered around the living room, with the guys sitting with the youngest girl on the couch. "So, what made you so sad?" Frankie gently asked her when she was still reluctant.

"Well, you see..." Shenzi started with, before she explained the whole thing.

"What a jerk!" Frankie exclaimed angrily. "Who abandons their pregnant wife, just because of the baby's gender?! That's sick!"

"Yep," The black-haired girl agreed, "And I... I just felt like I was a disgrace to my family, mostly because he said I am." Her head hung low a bit to hide the shame in her eyes.

"Well Shen, you're not a disgrace," Chuckie assured her, "Like I said earlier, he's the disgrace, not you."

"That's right," Friar Tuck agreed with his future son-in-law, "In fact, when I heard about him from Maya, I vowed to be the greatest father I possibly could be."

An emotional smile grew on Shenzi's face. "And you have been, and always will be." They shared another hug, as she glanced to her mother and sister. "Thanks, guys."

"It's our pleasure, honey," Felicia smiled at her, "He doesn't deserve an amazing daughter like you."

"That's right," Frankie agreed, "That jerk doesn't deserve anyone."

"Yep," Chuckie nodded.

"Um, wh-while we're on the subject," Shenzi looked up at her boyfriend, "My blood father doesn't deserve an amazing son-in-law like you." She laid on his shoulder. "I only want the best for you."

"And I you." He laid his head on hers, "And like I said before, if we have any kids, I'll love them with all my heart."

"I'm counting on that," She leaned up and kissed his cheek, "I love you."

"I love you too," He leaned in for a lips kiss, but she stopped him.

"Chuck, not in front of my daddy," She giggled and playfully pouted.

"Okay," He chuckled, "I'll wait until we have a little more... privacy."

"Oh God," Frankie's eyes squeezed shut, "Thanks for the mental images." Everyone laughed with her.

"Well, I uh, I should probably head home," Chuckie hesitantly stood up, "I would like to spend some time with my dad today, since it's Father's Day."

"Alright," Shenzi nodded, "Have fun with him."

"I will," He pecked her lips, "Bye, guys." He then left the house, and headed for his own. He was glad that Shenzi was over her depression from her biology issue. He couldn't imagine anyone hating Shenzi Tuck.

Ever.

* * *

 **(A/N: There's F! You know the disclaimer.)**


	7. G: Games

**(A/N: This one is kind of short, just so you know. Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **G- Games**

Summary: When the Finsters get a new gaming console, Chuckie invites the new girl at his school, Shenzi Tuck, to play on it with him. How will it go?

* * *

12-year-old Shenzi Tuck shuffled through her closet with excitement running through her brain. On her first day at Jim Jr. Junior High, which was the current day, she was positive that she wouldn't have any new friends. Turned out, she was wrong; The cutest boy she ever saw invited her to a lunch table in the cafeteria when she had nowhere to sit. A while into their lunches, he invited her to his house, because he got a new game console, and "needed someone to play on it with him", and his sister and mother were out of town, and his friends were too busy with their own things. She eagerly accepted his invitation, so he wrote his address in her notebook and said she could come after their homework was over and done with.

Once she was home, she made a beeline for her closet, since she did her homework on the bus. She decided on black mid-rise shorts that reached her mid-thighs, black Converse dance lace sneakers, Mario Chain Chomp bite earrings, a green Mario mushroom hair bow, a red extension in her long bangs, which covered the left side of her face and thick, black eyeglasses, a black cord necklace with a Mario question mark pendant, and an 8-bit Mario cropped tank top that showed some of her flat stomach, but covered her belly button. She also grabbed something from her dresser for the day with who possibly could be her new friend, and her purse as well.

At lunch, he introduced himself as Chuckie Finster, and she told him her name as well. He then told her that he recently got a gaming console known as the Wii-U, that included Mario Kart 8. She couldn't hide her excitement after hearing his words, but he didn't mind. He understood, and said that he was excited as well. She also said that she had always wanted to play on a Wii-U, and that Mario games were her favorites, so he invited her to play on it with him after saying that his friends were too occupied, and she accepted.

After bidding her parents and older stepsister goodbye, she walked along the sidewalk, looking at the paper with his address for guidance. As she walked, excitement filled her up more and more. She wasn't exactly a social butterfly, so she didn't exactly have a lot of friends in her former school. But after it was destroyed from a tornado, she and her sister, Frankie, started attending a new school, Jim Jr. Junior High. She surely didn't predict making a new friend on her first day! But he was very sweet and fun when she was chatting with him in the school cafeteria.

She stopped in front of a purple, 2-story house with an impressive size to it, and a tiny front porch that was almost fully covered. She walked on the porch, and carefully knocked on the door. She heard rushing footsteps from outside, before the door was opened by Chuckie. "Hi Shenzi," He greeted her with a smile that, for some reason, melted her heart, "Come on in." He stepped aside to let her walk in.

"Thanks." She looked around the living room as the door was closed. "This is a nice place."

"Thanks," Chuckie smiled at her again, "We should have the whole house to ourselves; My mom and sister are out of town, and my dad's working at the Java Lava."

"What's that?"

"It's a coffee place run by my dad and a friend's mom. It's pretty cool."

"Ah," She nodded.

"Although it doesn't just have coffee; It also has smoothies."

"Oh, cool."

"So um, why don't we get started on the game?"

"Okay," She nodded with excitement.

"Hey, you have an amiibo?" He asked her upon seeing what she brought over.

"Yeah," She nodded, "My sister and I kind of collect these, even though we don't have a Wii-U. It's the same with Disney Infinity."

"Ah," He nodded as they sat on the floor in front of the TV, "Cool. Is that one for the 30th anniversary?"

"Yep, one of them," She nodded again, "There's two of them, but this one has modern colors."

"I noticed that; Looks neat."

"Thanks. My sister has the other one. Now, let's get started!"

The two pre-teens raced virtually in a few courses that didn't need to be unlocked, before they moved on to Mario Party 10, which was purchased separately, but at the same time as the console. Shenzi was able to use her amiibo for the party, as she and Chuckie dueled against each other. They didn't keep track of how many times they played, but it was quite a few. They both had almost an equal amount of victories, but Chuckie had a bit more than Shenzi, since she mostly played hand-held games, instead of ones on the TV.

"This was fun, Chuckie," She smiled at him after he won again, "You're good at this game, for it being your first time."

"Thanks, Shen." Her heart fluttered at the nickname; Her sister called her that from time to time. "I guess I just have more experience with non-mobile consoles like this. You're more hand-held."

"True," She nodded, "Want to play again?"

"Sure," He shrugged, "You're fun to play with."

She shyly blushed at the compliment. "I am, really?"

"Yep," He nodded, "You're not a sore loser like Angelica, or a sore winner like Kimi."

For some reason, her heart sank at him mentioning girls. "Wh-who are they?"

"Angelica is my friend Tommy's cousin, and Kimi is my stepsister."

"Ah," She nodded, "Well, I just try to have fun with the game, whether I win or lose."

"Good for you," He playfully nudged her shoulder, "You want to race again?"

"You're on," She playfully glared at him.

As they raced on Rainbow Road, they both stood up with anticipation as they concentrated. When they finished, just before he won second place, and she won third, Shenzi tried to playfully ram his kart, but she turned so hard that she lost her balance, and fell on top of Chuckie! When she looked down, his face was under 5 inches away from hers. They both blushed heavily as they stared at one another. She didn't realize until then, just how cute and handsome he truly was; He had adorable freckles on his cheeks, his red hair seemed to frame his face, almost reaching his chin, and his stunned expression made her heart skip.

At the same time, Chuckie noticed just how beautiful and cute she was. Her face was flawless, without a single freckle or breakout, her flowing dark hair framed half of her face, and her green eye was sparkling from the former excitement. Plus that hair extension was pretty interesting. Her face was so close to his, that the chains on her earrings almost made contact with his glasses, and he felt her warm, minty breath on his blushing face.

They didn't know how long they stayed in that position, as a replay of their race played on loop. They didn't even hear the door opening, and footsteps walking in the room. "Am I interrupting anything, son?"

Both pre-teens shot up, and their foreheads harshly collided in shock at the voice. "Ow!" They looked up with their hands on their foreheads, and saw Chaz Finster standing at the couch with a cheeky grin directly at them.

"H-hi Dad," Chuckie stammered, "Um, th-this is Shenzi, the new girl at my school."

"Oh, I remember you telling me about her before I went to work," Chaz nodded, "She's as pretty as you described her." Her blush deepened; He thought she was pretty?

"Y-yeah," Chuckie shrugged awkwardly, "Um, we-we're playing Mario Kart 8 at the moment. Want to grab the 3rd controller, and join us?" He turned to Shenzi."You don't mind, right?"

"No, of course not," She shook her head, "This is your console, not mine. Go ahead, Mr. Finster."

"Thanks kids, and call me Chaz, Shenzi," He sat at Chuckie's other side.

"O-okay then," She shrugged timidly.

The three raced several times, as new tracks and characters were unlocked. Shenzi learned that Chaz was a bit competitive, but like Chuckie, he was fun to play games with. They also put the party game back in, and played a few rounds. At a point or two, they played as a team, or were pitted against each other.

After a round where they competed against each other, with Chaz emerging victorious, Shenzi noticed the time. "Oh! I, I have to get home. I don't want to be late for dinner."

"Will you be fine walking alone?" Chaz asked her.

"I'll be alright," She assured them, as she grabbed her amiibo figure and stood up. "Bye! Thanks for the fun day!"

"You're welcome!" Chuckie called out back to her, before she left. Chaz was amused when his son stared at the door with a dreamy look. "Isn't she great?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "She's a really nice girl. And pretty too." He playfully nudged his shoulder with a wink.

"Dad," Chuckie blushed in embarrassment.

* * *

Weeks went on, and the two spectacled pre-teens formed a very tight bond. She even met Chuckie's stepmother Kira, and Kimi after they were back home, and Chuckie's friends, brothers Tommy and Dil Pickles, and twins Phil and Lil DeVille at one point. And around the same time, Chuckie met her family and they seemed to like him.

At home one day, when she saw her Mario games in their boxes by her portable gaming consoles, she couldn't help but smile. She felt like if it hadn't been for the franchise, then she never would've met Chuckie. Speaking of which, she had a date with him later in the day! It was Saturday, and they were planning on going to the arcade after having lunch together. She got dressed, and rushed out the door, where Chuckie and Chaz were patiently waiting for her. Life was going to be great with her new best friend by her side. She just knew it.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, there's G for ya. I think it came out decent. You know the disclaimer.)**


	8. H: Happy Holidays

**(A/N: Merry Christmas, my readers! Enjoy this festive oneshot!)**

* * *

 **H- Happy Holidays**

Summary: Shenzi Tuck and Chuckie Finster's high school throws a party for Christmas. Will the smart, awkward couple finally have their first kiss there? 

* * *

"So Shen, you excited for the Christmas party?" 16-year-old Chuckie Finster asked his girlfriend of a year, Shenzi Tuck.

"Yep," She nodded, "Christmas is my favorite holiday."

"Of course it is," He chuckled with a cheeky grin.

"Not just because of the presents!" She giggled. "I also like festive decorations, clothes, movies, and music. Plus I help my parents with wrapping presents every year. So does Frankie."

"So, we're shopping for them today?"

"Uh huh," She nodded, "And for your family as well, and our friends."

"Yep, but we'll have to wait until we're not together to shop for each other. And by not together, I mean we're at separate places."

"I know what you meant," She assured him, "I would never dump you." She kissed his cheek.

"And I would never dump you either," He held her closer by her shoulders, "You're the best girlfriend any guy could ask for."

She blushed timidly at that. "Aww, thanks. And you're the best boyfriend ever." She snuggled on his shouler with one hand over his as they walked in the mall.

"So, what're you getting for your parents?" He asked her after a moment of silence.

"I'm not sure yet," She shrugged, "I'll just see what I find."

"Sounds good to me. I bet you'll find something they'll like."

"I hope so. What're you getting your folks?"

"I dunno," He replied, "I'm afraid of seemingly being racist if I get my mom something related to Japan."

"Why not something subtle, like Hello Kitty?" Shenzi suggested.

"Hmm... okay, I'll do that. Maybe I'll get Kimi something related to Sanrio as well."

"How did you know that Hello Kitty's from Sanrio?"

"Because you're my girlfriend, and you love Hello Kitty," He smirked at her.

"Oh yeah, that is true," She giggled.

"Thanks for the idea." He kissed her cheek.

"No prob."

As they browsed, Chuckie looked down at Shenzi. "So, you have your outfit ready for the party?"

"Yep," She nodded, "I have it hanging in my closet. What about you?"

"It's on my bed," He replied, "Kimi wouldn't get off my case until I had it laid out."

"Ah," She giggled, "Well, you know Kimi." She shook her head. "So helpful."

"I guess."

After a while, they walked back to Chuckie's car, with their hands full of bags. They stashed them in the backseats, before sitting up front. "Well that was fun," She remarked as she buckled herself.

"Yep," Chuckie agreed after he was strapped in, "Hopefully our parents and sisters won't peek."

"I bet they won't," She assured him, "Kimi gets excited, but she respects the holidays. So does Frankie, and as do I."

"You mean you respect the holidays, or do you get excited?"

"Both," She replied.

"Yeah, me too," He kept his eyes on the road as he drove. "I can't wait to see what you'll get for me."

"How do you know I'm getting you a present?" She teased him.

"Wait, you're not getting me anything?" He went along with her little game, pretending to be hurt. "Aww, I thought you loved me." He pouted sadly.

"I do!" She laid her hands on his shoulder, as he was trying not to smile. "I do love you!" They had confessed their true love to each other a few weeks ago, but surprisingly, they haven't had their first kiss yet. The perfect moment just never came for them. "I was kidding! I am getting a present for you!"

"I know, I was kidding too," He let himself chuckle, "I know you can't resist treating me during the season of giving."

"You're right, I can't," She giggled, "And I know you'll get something for me."

"I certainly will," He nodded, "I know what you like. It'll be easy." He quickly kissed her cheek, then focused on the road again.

"It's same for me with you. I know what you like."

"That's good," He flashed a loving smile at her for a second, "I can't wait to see what you get for me."

"And I you." She snuggled his shoulder for a moment.

* * *

On Saturday, Shenzi made herself ready for the party. She changed into a Jack Skellington Moon Dress, a themed Santa hat matching the former, clipped a Jack Skellington cosplay hair bow on the hat brim, Jack Mickey Head stud earrings, black Jack bow socks that covered her knees, a black moto jacket with Jack's head in some places, and Jack tuxedo slip-on shoes. In her hair, she clipped an orange extension in her long bangs, and multiple black extensions that faded into ivory around her head.

She hopped in Frankie's car, and they headed for their school with excitement in their systems. Frankie's date to the party was her boyfriend, Bobby Zimmeruski, who has been friends with the two girls since their infanthood. Other friends they've had since then are Bobby's twin sister Roxy, Maxie Goof, his little brother Matt, and their cousin Santana.

Shenzi's date was, in case you didn't know by now, Chuckie. They met when she and most of her friends started attending the same prescool as him and most of his friends. They clicked immediately, and formed a tight bond throughout the years, and in their first year of high school, they started dating. A while after that, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and she immediately, and eagerly said yes. That was a bit over a year ago, and their bond was still strong as ever.

They arrived at their destination after around a minute or two, and immediately jumped out of the car after Frankie turned it off. They dashed into the building, which was heavily decorated for the party and the festive season, and met up with their dates by the gym doors. "Hi!" Frankie greeted Bobby.

"Hey," He smiled at her, and kissed her lips for a second, then turned to Shenzi. "Chuckie's in the little boy's room, Shenzi. He shouldn't be long."

"Okay, thanks," She nodded. Bobby then turned back to his blonde girlfriend. "Let's get in there while it's not too packed."

"Good idea," She nodded, then turned to her sister, "See you in the gym, Shen!"

"You too," Shenzi waved shortly as the two walked in the room where the party was going on. After around a minute of waiting, she heard sudden, pounding footsteps heading towards her. She smiled when she saw Chuckie running up, and stopping in front of her.

"He-hi Shen," He panted, "I hope you didn't have to wait too long."

"Nah, I didn't," She assured him, "Only like a minute. You look really great."

"Thanks," He glanced at his outfit. It consisted of green jeans, red Converse high-tops, a classic Santa hat, and a festive sweater. It looked to have a yellow bow on the front like a present, with 4 red and green different sections. The bottom left and top right were solid, while the bottom right and top left had buffalo plaid. "You look festive too."

"Thanks," She giggled, "Come on, let's go in there."

Hand-in-hand, the couple walked in the gym, where the party was already in full swing. People were dancing, mingling, kissing, etc. all around the room. "What should we do first?" He asked her.

"Hmm," She thought about it, before "Once Upon a December" by Eileen Johnson started playing. "Ooh! Let's dance." She ran to the dance floor, almost dragging her boyfriend behind her, and they started dancing in a quick, but romantic way. Among the couples was Maxie and Roxy, Lil DeVille and Harold Frumpkin, Tommy Pickles and Kimi Finster, Phil DeVille and Wally Ramone, Fridge Kaminski and Nicole Boscarelli, and others.

As they danced slowly and closely to "Christmas Eve With You" by Glee cast, Chuckie couldn't help but stare into Shenzi's eyes, or eye. They, or it, sparkled from the lights above the floor, her long eyelashes practically fluttered when she blinked, and she had the prettiest smile.

Chuckie wasn't sure what he was doing, but he started leaning his head down towards Shenzi's, and she leaned up towards his, both of them with their lips puckered and eyes slowly closing. His heart leapt when they connected; Her tiny lips felt so soft against his. He laid his left hand on her neck and cheek, as her hands laid on the back of his neck. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, but he didn't want to break away, ever. And neither did she. They were both in heaven, and felt like they were flying.

But after several seconds, the need for air won them over, so they separated and gazed into each other's eyes. "I love you, Shen," Chuckie whispered lovingly through the music as he brushed her soft, silky hair from her face.

"I love you too, Chuck," She whispered back with as much love in her words. They shared another kiss as the rest of the students danced around them, unaware of the romantic scene.

* * *

On Christmas Day, the Tucks and Finsters gathered at the latter's house to open presents, or at least so that Shenzi and Chuckie could give each other presents in person. "Here, Chuckie." She set a soft-feeling flat square wrapped in festive paper in front of him. "When I saw this, I immediately thought of you."

"Thanks, Shenzi." Chuckie grabbed a section of the paper and tore it off, revealing a dark denim jacket. It was simple, but perfect. "I love this!" He held it up for Chaz, Kira, and Kimi to see. "Thanks!" He hugged his girlfriend with the jacket in his lap.

"You're very welcome," She smiled as she hugged him back.

"Now, for your present." He placed a small package covered with festive wrapping paper on her lap.

"Ooh," Her eyebrows raised up in interest. She ripped off the paper, and her heart jumped for joy at what she saw: Dangling earrings, a ring, hair clips, and a necklace all with an adorable, baby bat. "Aww! These are adorable!" She squealed. "Thanks so much!" She practically lunged forward, and hugged him tightly.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," He hugged her back, "I was browsing on the website when I saw these, and I thought of you, because they're dark, yet cute at the same time, like you." He kissed her blushing cheek.

"Well, they're awesome; I love them."

"I'm glad you do. And I love that jacket. I'll wear it every day."

"Aww," She blushed deeper, "Thanks, Chuck. I'm glad you like it." She laid her head on his shoulder, as their presents were on their laps. "This is the best Christmas ever."

"I couldn't agree more," Chuckie laid his head on hers, unaware that their respective families were smiling very widely at the sweet scene.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, there's H! You know the disclaimer. And once again, Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!)**


	9. I: Ice Skating

**(A/N: This one was inspired by the AGU episode "Memoirs of a Finster." Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **I- Ice Skating**

Summary: Shenzi Tuck has her 13th birthday party at an ice skating rink, and invites her friend and crush, Chuckie Finster, to come. He hopes that he won't make a fool out of himself in front of his friend and crush. Will he win her over? Or will he fall on his backside on ice? 

* * *

13-year-old Chuckie Finster was working his shift at the Java Lava on a hot, August day. Kimi Finster and their friends were having a pool day at Tommy Pickles' house, but Chuckie had to work, and didn't want to let his dad down, so they understood. As he wiped the desk with a clean hand towel, his head snapped up at the door opening; His face flushed when he saw it was 12, soon to be 13-year-old Shenzi Tuck. He had a crush on her for who knows how long, but was afraid to tell her, because he didn't want to lose her as a friend.

"Hi, Chuckie!" She walked up to the counter, and hopped on a stool. "Can I get a green apple smoothie?"

"Coming right up," He nodded, and started filling the blender with green apples. "So, what's up, Shen?"

"Big things!" She replied, looking excited. "I decided where to have my 13th birthday party at!"

"Oh, really? Where's it going to be?"

"At the ice skating rink downtown!" His heart jumped at that. The ice rink? That was where his former crush, Nicole Boscarelli, had a party a year or two ago. Kimi was supposed to teach him how to ice skate for it, but she repeatedly ditched him for Japanese culture after learning of her ancestry. And finally, after she made up with him, she taught him what he needed to know. But the bad part? He was woken up at 5 in the morning! And on a Saturday, no less! "Chuckie, you okay?" Shenzi's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," He replied, "So, your party's going to be at the ice rink? That sounds fun."

"I know it will be! In fact..." She took a piece of paper out of her jeans pocket, and placed it in front of him. "You're invited! You think you can make it?"

He looked at the invitation after turning the blender off, and mentally read the information. It said that her party was going to start at 3:00 in the afternoon, and end at 5:30, on August 27th. 2 and ½ hours? She must have had a lot planned. "Y-yeah, I really think I'll be able to come."

"Yay!" She cheered. "Also, you don't have to get me a present. You coming will be enough for me."

"Really?" He blushed at that. "Well, th-thanks. I'll be there." He then placed a medium-sized cup filled with the smoothie requested in front of her. "Here's your smoothie."

"Thanks." She took a straw out of the wrapper, stuck it in the cup through the lid, and sipped some. "Awesome," She smiled, "Just like always." His blush deepened. "So um, I look forward to seeing you at my party. Do you know how to ice skate?"

"Yeah, some," He nodded, "My sister taught me how."

"Cool! Maybe we can skate together," She suggested.

That made his heart leap; She wanted to skate with him? That sounded really nice, and... possibly romantic. Hopefully that wouldn't go wrong in any way. Her giggles at his apparently eager smile snapped him out of his fantasy. "Yeah, th-that sounds great."

"Awesome," She smiled with her shoulders up after sipping her refreshing smoothie again, "I can't wait."

"Me neither."

* * *

August 27th came fast. Almost a little too fast for Chuckie. As he searched for a suitable outfit, he internally prayed that nothing bad would happen. At Nicole's party, he was so tired from waking up at 5 AM, that he was skating clumsily as he fought to keep his eyes open. He was constantly falling on his face or butt from fatigue. Needless to say, he was humiliated, although Nicole understood why he was so tipsy after explaining everything.

Today, he made sure to get extra sleep, so he wouldn't be so stumbly. After getting dressed, he rode the bus to the rink, with a wrapped up short, but wide square-ish item covered with wrapping paper in his lap. Yep, he cracked and bought her a present, despite her saying he didn't need to. He just wanted to spoil her, like he would if she was his girlfriend. If only.

After the bus stopped near the rink, he exited the vehicle and ran in the building with the present in his hands. When he entered the main lobby, he saw a few kids around his age mingling around the room. After setting his present on the appropriate table, he looked for the birthday girl, although he didn't have to search for very long. "Chuckie! You're here!" She ran up to him, and practically jumped on him in a hug. "You made it!"

"Yep," He nodded with his hands on her back, "The party looks fun."

"It is!" She nodded. He then blushed a bit at the outfit she wore for the event; A black halter v-neck leotard, a light blue caimsole under it, a short black petticoat skirt that flowed with almost her every move, black and light blue argyle knee-high socks, classic Converse high-tops, black hoop earrings, blue ice skate clip-on earrings, and a light blue extension in her long bangs. "What's wrong?" He blinked to come back to reality at her concerned voice.

"Huh?"

"You seemed to be in a daze," She told him, "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," He nodded, "I-I just like your outfit."

"Oh, thanks!" Her smile grew. "You want some cake?" He saw a moderately-sized chocolate cake with white frosting, and those kinds of candles that had different-colored flames. "After I blow out the candles, at least."

"Is that a trick question?" He chuckled. "'Course I do."

"Awesome," The two friends stared at one another, as their faces were inches away from each other.

"Shenzi? It's time to blow out your candles."

"Oh! Coming, Dad!" She broke out of Chuckie's hold, and ran to the table.

Dad? Oops. He almost kissed Shenzi in front of her overprotective, but well-meaning father. You see, throughout her whole life, she has been looked at as "Daddy's Little Girl" by herself, her family, and her friends. She was proud of this status, and didn't let any bullies put her down for it.

She blew out the candles, so they were taken out before any wax could get in the cake, and her father, Friar Tuck cut the cake in equal pieces. As the guests enjoyed the delicious cake, Shenzi was talking to Chuckie and Kimi. "So, you're really Japanese?"

"Yep," Kimi nodded, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Uh huh. And I heard from Chuckie that you had a family tree project in history class around a year ago. I was sick that day."

"Yeah, we did," Chuckie nodded, "That was a... pretty interesting time."

"What happened?"

"Well..." The two stepsiblings started explaining the whole episode from their perspectives.

Unfortunately, Kimi said something that she shouldn't have. "I was feeling uneasy because I'm not a "real Finster.""

Shenzi raised an eyebrow, although it wasn't seen. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's because I'm not related to Chuckie and Dad by blood."

The birthday girl couldn't stop herself from getting angry. "You don't like not being related to them by birth? Well, guess what? I'm not biologically related to anyone in my family! Not my mom, not my dad, not my sister! My blood relatives seemed to have passed on, and my birth father may as well not exist!" She started choking up. "So when it comes to blood relatives, I have no one! Absolutely no one! So do us a favor, and appreciate the fact that you have two birth parents that love you, and don't see you as a disgrace!" As tears welled up, she ran off to another room.

"Shenzi!" He tried to run after her, but he stopped when she kept going. He then turned to a guilty-looking Kimi with a disappointed expression. "Well, I hope you're satisfied with yourself." He then ran after his best female friend without another word to his stepsister. "Shenzi!" After a minute of running, he found his best girl friend sitting by the shoe lockers, with her knees to her chest. "Shen, you okay?" He knelt down in front of her.

"Do I look okay?" She replied drolly.

"... N-no." She hid her face in her arms. "Shen, don't let Kimi get to you. She doesn't feel that way anymore."

"It still makes me sick," She mumbled, but he understood what she said, "I mean, I have no blood relatives in my life. As I said before, my birth father may as well not exist." By now, they both knew that he was a sexist jerk who looked down on his own daughter simply because of her gender. "She should be grateful that she still has both of her birth parents."

When she looked like she was going to break, Chuckie held out his arms in an offering. She practically fell into his hold, and cried softly in his chest while gripping his shirt. "Shen, I do agree with you, but she is grateful now, and as am I for my birth family."

"G-good," She stammered with a sniffle. "Um, s-sorry I freaked out like that."

"It's okay," He assured her, "Why don't we go back out there?"

"Okay," She nodded and they headed back to the lobby, where the party was still going on. When they saw Kimi looking guilty by the presents table, they walked up to her. "Um, Kimi?" She turned to look at them. "I uh, I'm sorry I freaked out on you like I did."

"It's okay, it was my fault. I shouldn't have said that part about what happened. So, it's all on me. And... I'm sorry."

"I forgive you." The two girls shared a short, friendly embrace to seal the exchanged apologies. "Now, let's go skate!" She grabbed Kimi and Chuckie's hands, and led them to the skate rental area.

After they had what they needed, they headed for the area with the smooth, cold ice, where one or two people were already skating. "I'll meet you guys out there!" Kimi started gliding along the ice when Chuckie hesitated, and Shenzi stuck by him.

"You okay, Chuck?" The birthday girl asked her best friend when he held onto her for balance.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," He assured her, "I'm just... nervous."

"You'll be alright. I can help you if you need it."

"You know how to ice skate?" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice.

"A little bit," She shrugged, "We'll be fine. Come on." They stumbled to where they could get on the ice, and held onto the side. After a while, Shenzi was gliding along the rink, occasionally wobbling a bit, but was just fine. But when she heard a loud thump, and a yelp of pain, she turned to the source and saw a cringing Chuckie on his backside. She carefully skated over to him and knelt down, ignoring the cold ice on her knees. "Chuckie, you okay?"

"Y-yeah," He nodded, "I just slipped."

"You want to sit down?"

"Sure," He nodded; She helped him to the carpeted floor and on a bench by the shoe lockers, where he untied his skates and put his sneakers back on. "Um, i-if you want, you can keep going."

"Oh, I'm fine," She sat next to him, and changed her shoes, "I skated enough today."

"You sure?"

"Uh huh."

They sat together in silence for a moment, watching the people, including Kimi, skating on the slick ice. "Um, s-sorry I didn't do so well out there."

"It's okay," She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I wasn't the best together."

"What're you talking about? You were great! Heck, one reason why I fell is because I was watching you," Chuckie accidentally blurted out.

A shy blush grew on her face. "Y-you were watching me?" No turning back now.

"Uh huh," He nodded, "Um, sorry if that's creepy."

"No, it's fine," She assured him, "I, I'm flattered, actually."

"You are?" He was genuinely surprised. "Well uh, I'm glad you are. You're really good."

"Thanks," Her blush deepened, "And until you fell, you were good too."

"I was?" He couldn't help but feel skeptical.

"Yeah," She nodded, "Even though it was at 5 AM, Kimi taught you good."

A shy blush formed on his freckled cheeks, and an equally shy smile grew. "Thanks, Shen."

"No prob," She smiled back.

After a few seconds of silence, Chuckie made his move. The one he was waiting to do since... forever. "Um, Sh-Shenzi?"

"Yeah?" She turned to him.

"Uh, after the excitement's over, do you want to get a..." He hesitated, "A uh, a hamburger at the mall sometime?" His heart pounded hard after he finished.

"You mean, a date? You want to go on a date with me?" She wanted to confirm.

"Uh huh," He nodded, "I do."

She couldn't believe it. He returned her feelings for him? "I, I'd love to," She answered his question, "How about tomorrow at 1 or 2?"

"Sounds good to me."

As they watched the skaters glide around, they both did a happy dance in their heads.

Chuckie's eyes widened and his heart jumped when he felt a little, quick kiss on his cheek. He looked and saw Shenzi stifling giggles at his stunned expression. His shy smile grew back as his blush deepened. She truly was an amazing girl; Under her shyness was someone who wasn't afraid to make a sneak move like that. That was one thing he liked about her; In a way, she took risks like how he wanted to.

But then, he remembered; His present! "Um, Sh-Shenzi, I'll be right back." After she nodded, he dashed to the appropriate table, grabbed his gift, ran back on the bench, and put it in her lap as he sat next to her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise. "Thanks, Chuck." She tore off the paper, revealing a black and white striped tank top that looked to have a black vest on it, and a black and white striped wallet with a bow on the front. "Oh, Chuckie! These are awesome! Thank you!" She hugged him tightly, keeping her presents on her lap.

"You're welcome," He hugged her back, "I'm glad you like them. I was shopping with Kimi and our mom, and when I saw those in the stores, I immediately thought of you."

She blushed timidly. "Aww. Well, thanks Chuckie." She kissed his cheek again.

He was eager to go on that date with her already. He could hardly wait!

* * *

 **(A/N: There's I. You know the disclaimer.)**


	10. J: Just The Way You Are

**(A/N: Sorry I took so long to write this! I had writers' block until tonight. Happy New Year! Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **J- Just The Way You Are**

* * *

Summary: Shenzi's self confidence is lower than usual, because of preppy bullies. She now believes that she needs to change herself. Chuckie is actually in love with his best friend, and wants her to just be herself. Can he change her mind? 

* * *

14-year-old Shenzi walked in her school, feeling pretty in a black short-sleeved dress with a purple floral skull skirt, black Bobs shoes with silver studs all over them, black rose earrings, and a purple extension in her long bangs, which covered the left side of her face. The rest of her black hair reached her lower shoulders, while a fringe covered the right side of her forehead. Although she felt emotionally good, her spirit was going to be broken.

At her locker, as she grabbed her history textbook for class with her favorite teacher, Mr. Banks, some preppy girls walked up to her. "Hey Tuck," The leader greeted her as if they were friends. Just a little FYI, they're not.

She turned to them, with her book to her chest and an eyebrow raised, although it wasn't seen. "Hello."

"And how are we today?"

She couldn't help but feel confused. Since when did they talk to her? They were popular, while she was a dork. "Um, f-fine. It's uh, a nice day out. The sun isn't too bright."

"Just like anyone who thinks you're physically appealing," The leader remarked, and her posse giggled.

Shenzi sharply turned to look at her. "Say what?"

"Have you seen yourself? You're an ugly freak." That one hurt. "Nobody wants to be seen with you. Not even gorks, and especially not that Chuckie boy you have a crush on."

She blushed at that. "Wh-what? I don't have a crush on him." Technically, that wasn't true; She doesn't have a crush on Chuckie, because she's in love with him. Completely head over heels. He stole her heart when they were both 11 years old, but she never spoke of it.

"Oh, please!" The leader scoffed. "We've seen the way you look at him. We know the lovestruck look when we see it. And believe me, we've all seen it. It's not surprising that you don't know about it." Her teeth clenched in anger and emotional pain. "So, just do yourself a favor, and give up. Chuckie will never like you that way, or in general, ever." As tears flooded her eyes, the preps walked away with pride.

She didn't know how long she was standing there in the hall, alone, but she was very late for her class.

Meanwhile, in the history classroom, her absence was noticed by the eccentric teacher. "Where's Shenzi Tuck at?" Max Banks asked the students. "She's never this late."

"Um, Mr. Banks?" Chuckie raised his hand. "If it's fine, I'd like to go look for her. She might just be using the bathroom or something."

"You may go, Mr. Finster," Mr. Banks allowed him, "But don't take too long."

"I'll try not to. Thanks." The redhead rushed out of the room, and fast-walked along the halls, looking for the black-haired girl that he was in love with. "Shenzi?" He didn't receive an answer, so he tried another part of the hallway. "Shenzi?" He peeked in upon hearing sniffles, and saw who he was looking for standing by her locker, with her head hanging down. "Shenzi?" She looked up at him, so he saw the tears falling, before she gazed at the floor again. He walked up in front of her, and knelt down a bit, since he was in the middle of a growth spurt. "What's the matter?" Her only response was sniffles and shaky breaths. When he shyly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, she buried her face in his chest and soaked his shirt with her tears. Chuckie's embrace tightened, and his hands rubbed her back in attempts of soothing comfort. One hand stroked her soft, dark hair and his head carefully rested on hers as her shoulders shook.

When they heard footsteps, Chuckie was very surprised when she suddenly jumped away from him, as if a spider was on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Y-you can't be seen with me," She shook her head.

"What? Why not? Why would you think that?"

"Brianna Penelope said so."

"You mean that mean girl and her posse who do nothing but put others down? Shenzi, she lied to you! I love being with you!" He tried to hold her again, but she backed away cautiously, making him sigh. "Shenzi, when has she ever told you the truth?"

"The last time she talked to me, when she said no one wants to be seen with me, especially you."

He sighed again, but sounded more distressed. "That was not the truth! I've been best friends with you for years! Why would you think I wouldn't want to be around you?"

"Because I..." She choked up from emotional pain, "I'm an ugly freak!" She cried out.

"WHAT?!" Now Chuckie was horrified. "No you're not! You are absolutely not!" He sighed his anger away, and laid his hands on her shoulders before she could back away. "You're nowhere close to an ugly freak. You are a very beautiful girl, who is very fun to be with. In fact..." He leaned close to her left ear. " _When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change,_ " He sang quietly, making her blush at his warm breath on her ear, and his soothing voice, " _'Cause you're amazing... just the way you are._ " When he drew back, she had a timid smile and an averted gaze. "Don't believe anything she tells you, because it's all lies. Now um, come on, Shen. Let's get to class. I'll defend you when it's needed."

"Thanks, Chuck." Hand-in-hand, the two friends walked to the history room, where the teacher and students were waiting for them. "H-hi guys," She stammered.

"You okay, Ms. Tuck?" Mr. Banks asked her. "You're never this late."

"Yeah, I-I'm fine. I was just having a... personal dilemma."

"Well, you don't have to tell it, Ms. Tuck; It's none of my business. You just take your seat, young lady."

"Thanks," She nodded, and followed Chuckie to her seat. As Mr. Banks lectured the students, Shenzi absentmindedly laid on Chuckie's shoulder, surprising him, before he laid his head on hers.

"And so..." Mr. Banks saw the two friends, and paused his lecture. "Aww, would you look at that?" The students turned and saw them practically cuddling. "In love before high school; Isn't that sweet?" Shenzi blushed from the attention, but didn't move from her position. Chuckie was very comfortable to lay on anyway. "You two just make the perfect couple." As he continued his lecture, the two friends stayed where they were; They provided comfort to each other without words. But nonverbal comfort only lasted so long without getting tarnished...

After the school day was over, Chuckie had to use the little boy's room, with Shenzi waiting on him so they could walk out to the bus together. As she waited by the restrooms, the preppy posse came up to her. "'Sup, Tuck?" Brianna, the leader of the group, greeted her.

Shenzi crossed her arms. "Don't talk to me, Penelope. You lied to me."

"Oh, is that so?" Brianna's hands planted on her hips.

"Yes, it is so. Chuckie told me that you were lying about people not wanting to be around me, and I believe him."

"How do you know that he's not the one lying?" S

henzi glared with anger. "He has never lied to me, and he never will!"

"Oh, trust me. We know lying when we heard it. Chuckie was only trying to make you feel better. He doesn't want to admit that he's embarrassed to even know a freak like you, so he's been lying to make you feel better. He doesn't actually think you're pretty; He was just saying that, so you wouldn't get mad."

She was furious at her accusations, yet she couldn't help but believe them. Why? She didn't know; Brianna sounded so sincere, yet her accusations didn't sound like anything her best friend would do. "See? I knew you would see reason," Brianna's voice snapped her back to reality, "It was just to keep you from getting hurt." Before Shenzi could ask why she cared, she and her posse left for the buses.

When she saw Chuckie walking out of the bathroom, anger boiled up. But why? It couldn't be true! He would never be embarrassed to know her! But no matter what she thought, fury just kept bubbling up. She wasn't aware of the angry glare on her face, before he spoke up. "Hey Shenzi, I'm refreshed. Let's get to... what's wrong?" He asked her in concern.

"Oh, bite me!" She snapped, before striding away angrily, with her hands clenched into fists.

"Wha-what?" He stammered in shock and confusion. Why was she so mad at him all of a sudden? Did he do something wrong? He couldn't have taken _that_ long in the bathroom, right? The buses were still there, so they weren't late. Why would she... uh oh. It just hit him. Brianna and her posse must have claimed that he lied to her about their lies, which he did not. He was being completely honest with her! She was a delight to be with, and was absolutely beautiful! Why would she believe them instead of him? It didn't make sense!

After snapping out of his trance, he ran outside so he wouldn't have to walk home. After boarding, he stopped at the row where Shenzi was, but she gave him a look that could kill, so he sat next to Tommy at the window, across from her. He sighed in distress as he slumped back in the seat, ignoring his best friend's death glare. "What's wrong, Chuckie?" Tommy asked him.

"Shenzi believes that no one wants to be around her, especially me, and that she's an ugly freak, because Brianna Penelope told her. I told her otherwise, which is the truth, and she believed me until after I came out of the bathroom." He leaned forward to face the furious girl. "Shenzi, I told you to not believe anything she said to you!"

"And I told you to bite me!" She snapped, before turning away with crossed arms.

Chuckie's face fell in his hands in distress. "Tommy, what should I do? She obviously believes that I'm embarrassed to know her, which I'm not! She's the greatest friend I've ever had!" He buried his face in his knees, with his hands and upper arms in his wild, red hair. Tommy didn't feel any sort of discomfort at Shenzi being referred to as Chuckie's greatest friend; He was perfectly fine with being a close second. Right now, all he felt was sympathy. "How can I make her believe me? She can't let bullies tell her lies like that."

"I wish I knew," Tommy rested his cheek on his hand in thought. "Hmm... hey, I know! Didn't you tell me what her favorite song is?"

"Yeah!" Chuckie nodded. "It's "Just The Way You Are", by Bruno Mars. Why?"

"Well, why don't you sing it to her?" Tommy suggested.

Chuckie blushed shyly at that. "Wha-huh? Oh no, I can't sing."

"Come on, I've heard you sing before; You're great! If you sing that song to her in the auditorium, then she's got to believe you! Then she'll ditch those preps, and run back to you."

The redhead thought about it. He wasn't very confident about his singing ability, although he sang to her quietly just earlier that day, and she said to find his voice soothing. "Hmm... okay, I'll do it," He decided, "Anything to make her feel better, and to get those lies out of her head."

"Alright!" Tommy praised him. "I'll find some way to get her in the auditorium tomorrow."

Luckily for them, Shenzi was listening to music on her new iPhone, which had an 8-bit Mario "Game Over" case, with matching Mario mushroom earbuds, so she couldn't hear them. And while tuning out the world, she still looked angry and emotionally hurt.

* * *

The next day, Shenzi's clothes made her look as depressed as she truly was. She was in a black velour hoodie, matching bootcut pants, black fireball stud earrings, all black Converse high-tops, and the only other color on her, from a black floral cowlneck top. For once, her hair was extension-free, and she just looked like she wanted to kill someone. When Chuckie watched her from his locker, he quickly averted his gaze when she glanced at him.

He and Tommy discussed their plan at the former's house; Chuckie was going to do the song during the history class, the first one of the day. They cleared it with Mr. Banks, who understood and excused them from the class until they were finished, so long as they come back before the class should end.

Once Shenzi was alone, Tommy made his move; He walked up to her, ignoring the intimidating vibe radiating around her. "Um, hey Shenzi."

She turned to him, looking like she had no emotions whatsoever. "Oh, uh, h-hi Tommy." Her voice was a bit droll; It almost reminded him of the science teacher, Mr. Beaker. "What's up?"

"Umm... I uh, I made this new movie," He told her, and she nodded, indicating that he had her attention. "And uh, I-I would like your opinion on it before I show it to the public."

She looked genuinely surprised. "Wh-why do you want _my_ opinion?"

"... Uh..." He didn't think she would ask that. "I just... 'cause you're a good audience."

A blush grew on her cheeks. "R-really? Well um, thanks. I can view it for you. When are you showing it?"

"About... now."

" _NOW?!_ " She suddenly exclaimed, startling him. "We have history class!"

"I cleared it up with Mr. Banks," He assured her, "Our tardiness won't affect our records."

She sighed in relief at that. "Okay," She nodded, "I'll just take my history book with me, so I don't forget it."

"That's fine."

* * *

After using the girls' restroom, she walked in the auditorium and sat near the front row. At meetings, elections, or anything held in the room, she never sat up front, because she would strain her neck from looking upward for a certain amount of time, so she always sat near the front instead. Her history book was on her lap, under her clasped hands. She watched as Tommy walked on the stage and to the microphone. "... Shenzi, I have to tell you something."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You don't have a movie ready?"

Tommy paused for a beat. "Wow, that is what I was going to say. This is something more important." As he walked to the curtain, her heart pounded hard when Chuckie took his place. She gave him a scowl with crossed arms, and clenched lips.

"Shenzi, I... I know that I'm the last person you want to see," Chuckie spoke in the microphone, feeling nervous from her angry expression, "But... I've never lied to you, and I never will." She didn't move a muscle. "I sincerely believe that you should ignore Brianna's insults, because they're not true." Her tongue moved in her left cheek, but otherwise, she didn't budge. "You're the most beautiful and sweet girl in our whole school. And... I'm going to prove it." He turned to the backstage area. "Tommy?" The purple-haired boy started the music. Shenzi looked genuinely surprised at the instrumental version of the song that started playing. It was her favorite song! She had always wished for somebody to sing it to her, including Bruno Mars himself, but she never spoke of it, afraid of getting teased.

She was very surprised when Chuckie started singing the song perfectly. It was just at the right time and speed, and he had such a wonderful voice. As he performed, he looked at her with love in his eyes throughout the whole song. Maybe he was telling the truth yesterday? He looked completely honest right now. The love in his eyes looked completely sincere. She couldn't help but smile as he nailed the performance. He even gave Bruno Mars a run for his money, in her eyes. When he finished, he looked at her with hope in his eyes.

With emotional tears welling up, she ran on the stage, and practically jumped on him in an embrace with her head on his shoulder. "Th-that was so wonderful, Chuckie!" She cried softly in his chest. "I'm sorry about the way I acted yesterday, and today."

"It's alright," He assured her, "I understand." He then gave Tommy a thumbs-up. "Bullies can be very convincing, but they're never honest. Look at me." She drew away, and gazed up at him. "Can you promise me that you won't listen to anyone's claims and insults ever again?"

She felt hesitant, but thought about it. How could Brianna know her that much? They weren't friends; They were barely even acquaintances. What right _did_ she have to tell her things like that? None, that's what. She made her decision right then and there. She looked up at Chuckie with a bit of confidence. "I promise."

"Good," He smiled, and to her surprise, he kissed her cheek.

After regaining her composure, she shyly rubbed the back of her neck. "And um... I'm sorry for telling you to bite me."

"It's okay," He chuckled, then took her wrist and gently, playfully bit her.

"Hey!" She giggled. "It's an expression, you doofus!"

"I know," He laughed, "I was just playing. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She glanced at her wrist, which had a bit of his spit remaining, then shook her head. "No, you didn't. I'm fine."

"Good," He nodded, "So um..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to... have lunch at the mall sometime? Maybe this Saturday?"

"Are you asking me out?" She asked him, simply wanting to confirm.

"Y-yeah," He nodded, looking nervous.

Shenzi let a smile grow. "I'd love to." She then hugged him again, and he reciprocated. "Oh, and Chuckie?"

"Yes?"

"You have a wonderful voice." She leaned up and kissed his cheek, making him blush.

"Th-thanks," He stammered shyly, making her smile grow. "So um, let's get to class before it's over, shall we?"

"Alright," She nodded and held his hand. "Come on, Tommy!" The three walked to the classroom after the girl grabbed her history textbook.

* * *

After the class was over, Shenzi and Chuckie walked together to each other's lockers, feeling comfortable and happy in each others' presences. After they had their English textbooks in hand, they headed for the proper classroom, but were stopped by Brianna and her posse. "'Sup, Tuck?"

Shenzi glared at her. "Don't talk to me, Penelope. I know you lied to me. I did before, and now... I _definitely_ know. Chuckie actually _likes_ my company, and he sees me as pretty and appealing." Brianna looked stunned.

"She's right," Chuckie chimed in, "I see her as fun to be around, and the prettiest girl in our whole school. And now, she's not letting you or anyone tell her otherwise." Feeling proud, they walked past the group to the classroom. "We got her," He snickered.

"Yep," She agreed with a giggle, "Thanks, Chuck. Your singing really helped me."

"My pleasure," He smiled down at her, "I couldn't stand seeing you as upset as you were; I had to do something to make you happy again. So, Tommy and I came up with the performing idea yesterday."

"Well, it was amazing." They sat next to each other at the one, long desk. "You're truly talented."

"Thanks," He blushed again.

"No prob."

As they listened to Ms. O'Keats' lecture, Shenzi looked forward to her upcoming date with Chuckie. What would they have for lunch? Would they visit the arcade? Will they try the Mall Jump for their first times? Just thinking about it excited her! It was going to go great; She was very positive about that.

* * *

 **(A/N: I hope you enjoyed J! You know the disclaimer. Once again, Happy New Year!)**


	11. K: Kiss The Girl

**K- Kiss The Girl**

Summary: On an evening at the beach with their friends, Shenzi and Chuckie want to finally have their first kiss. Will they finally make the move? 

* * *

16-year-old Angelica Pickles drove her new, red convertible down the road on a nice, sunny day in the beginning of summer, followed by 16-year-old Susie Carmichael, who drove a purple convertible. Where are they going? To the beach nearby, to celebrate the start of their summer vacation! They were driving with their younger friends, 14-year-old Tommy Pickles, 13-year-old Dil Pickles, who were Angelica's cousins, 14-year-old twins Phil and Lil DeVille, 14-year-old Kimi Finster, her older stepbrother, 15-year-old Chuckie Finster, his girlfriend of almost a year, 14-year-old Shenzi Tuck, and her older stepsister, 15-year-old Frankie Tuck.

Tommy, Dil, and the twins were in Angelica's vehicle, while Chuckie, Shenzi, Frankie, and Kimi were in Susie's. Shenzi was snuggled on Chuckie's shoulder, with Frankie sitting at the other end, while Kimi was up front with her best friend. Phil seemed eager to sit shotgun in Angelica's car, so he was allowed access, while Tommy, Lil, and Dil sat in the back. Angelica's car had leopard-print seat covers, while Susie's had rainbow zebra.

For the beach, Shenzi was wearing black Kiss of Death lounge shorts over her swim bottoms, black Converse low-tops, a red extension in her long bangs, a silver initial necklace with an "S" and black music note pendants, black rose earrings, and a black babydoll camisole that tied in front at the bust, so a bit of her swim top and slender stomach were revealed. Her black and white striped beach bag contained her black moon phases swim towel, her black leather jacket-like purse, sunscreen, and other necessities for the day. Her black, cat-eye prescription glasses framed her large, green and blue eyes, and her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she smiled up at her one and only.

There was a cooler in the back of Susie's car, in front of where Frankie sat, so she rested her legs on it, and a second one was in the back of Angelica's car with Dil's legs resting on it. The coolers contained drinks (non-alcohol!), and chilled snacks for all of them.

Before long, Susie made an exciting announcement. "We're here!" The gang cheered as she and Angelica parked next to each other a ways away from the sand, in the parking lot. The teens hopped out of the cars, and headed for the beach after everyone was out and blocked up. Shenzi and Chuckie held hands as they walked with their friends. He was amused when she started swinging their joined arms back and forth, with excitement in her large, sparkling eyes. Or eye, since the left was covered by her long bangs.

That was one thing he loved about her; She was enthusiastic about anything and everything, especially if he's there with her. Truthfully, he didn't understand just what she saw in him; He was a geek, no, a gork! She could do better than him.

But in her eyes, he was the cutest, sweetest, and most handsome boy in the whole world. She wished that he could just see that, and stop putting himself down like he did. It was him who could do better; She was a gork! He deserved a girl much prettier than her, like Nicole Boscarelli, or anyone other than herself basically. "Shenzi, watch your step," Chuckie's voice snapped her back into reality, but before she could react, her feet hit the wooden board that separated the pavement and the sand.

"Oof!" She stopped walking, and checked her feet one at a time.

"You okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She replied, "I guess I just wasn't paying attention."

"Clearly," He chuckled as they walked on the sand closely behind their friends. She playfully shoved him a bit, making him laugh some more, but not far enough so their hands would pull apart.

"Okay, where should we set up camp?" Lil asked everyone.

"Hmm..." Kimi looked around the semi-crowded beach, and found a reasonably-sized empty area. "There's a vacant space over there; Lot of room, and close to the water, yet not too close. What do you say?"

Susie shrugged after a bit of consideration. "Looks good to me. What do you guys think?" After everyone agreed on it, they headed for that spot, renting a canopy awning along the way. Once it was set up, the gang spread out their towels, and finally relaxed. Shenzi and Chuckie's towels were right next to each other, even overlapping ever so slightly. Since it was around lunch time, the teens passed the takeout bags and cups holders from Arby's around, until everyone had their respective meals, and ate up as they watched their surroundings. Chuckie was amused as Shenzi seemed to be in heaven from the cheese sauce in her turkey sandwich, while occasionally taking sips of her Pepsi. She also had a pack of 4 potato cakes, which she shared with her boyfriend.

After everyone's food was digested, and after taking off their casual clothes, they started having their fun; Phil and Lil were splashing each other in the cold, salty water as Dil was making a UFO sculpture in the sand. The rest of the girls, minus a certain one, and Tommy were playing with an inflated beach ball on the warm sand. Meanwhile, Shenzi and Chuckie were just enjoying each others' company under the shade, sitting on their towels. Although she still took off her top and shorts, revealing a black halter tankini top that revealed just enough to let her belly button show, with red straps and polka dots, and red bottoms with matching black ruffles.

Chuckie's cheeks blushed as he stared at his girlfriend. She may not have been wearing a bikini like Angelica, Susie, Kimi, and Frankie were (Lil was wearing a concealing tankini), but she still looked very attractive. It showed enough of her hourglass figure without revealing too much; It was perfect for you. "Chuckie?" Her voice snapped him out of his love spell. "My eyes are here," She giggled, pointing to her glasses.

"S-sorry," He stammered, his cheeks still warm.

"It's okay," She assured him, "Um, y-you look really nice too."

"Thanks," His blush deepened, "But how'd you know I was thinking that about you?"

"I can tell from the look on your face... and where you were looking," She added with a giggle.

"O-oh." Even as a teenager, he was still as awkward as he was in his pre-teen years. To Shenzi, it was adorable.

When he looked back at her, their faces were suddenly an inch apart. Their cheeks were as red as his hair as they gazed at one another. Kimi's sudden singing voice startled them into almost smacking their foreheads together. "Sha lalalalala, my, oh my! Looks like the boy's too shy! He ain't gonna kiss the girl!" She laughed as Chuckie and Shenzi had sly smiles and raised eyebrows, directly at her. "S-sorry, I couldn't resist." She then left them alone, and ran back to the water.

"Well, moment ruined," Chuckie remarked.

"It's okay," She laid a hand on his shoulder, "You know how Kimi is."

"True," He shrugged. They then stayed quiet as they watched their friends have fun, and play in the sand or the water.

"Well um, no use sitting around all day," Shenzi remarked after a few seconds, "Why don't we have some fun?"

"Sure," He agreed; They stood up with their shoes taken off, and headed for the ocean waves, hand-in-hand. In the cold, salty water, the two engaged in a tickle fight, and occasionally tacked each other when a wave washed up, so they were quickly soaked. They had a couple moments where their lips almost connected, but they were interrupted by ocean waves, or an accidental beach ball to the heads.

But at one moment, when their friends were lounging on their respective towels, Shenzi and Chuckie were alone, and... it happened. While they were sitting in the sand, where the waves could reach them, they slowly leaned in. And there were no interruptions. Their lips finally touched in a short, but sweet kiss. They tasted the salt water on each others' lips, but paid no mind to it, because the fireworks going on in their chests distracted them. Their friends saw the romantic scene, and almost cheered, but kept quiet, as to not disturb the couple. The girls had super wide smiles, so wide that the boys thought their faces were going to split in two.

After a few seconds, Shenzi and Chuckie pulled apart, and just gazed at each other as they sat in the wet sand. They were startled by a sudden wave of cold water, but laughed it off as they stood up to let the sea wash the sand off, then joined their friends. "That was the most romantic kiss I've ever seen!" Frankie gushed. "Your first kiss, both of you!"

"You're each others' firsts!" Kimi added.

"Y-yeah," Shenzi shrugged timidly.

"I... this will sound cheesy, but I wanted my first kiss to be with someone special," Chuckie confessed, "And... I did."

His girlfriend's blush deepened. "And s-same for me with you." She laid on his shoulder, and he held her closer as the group relished the cool shade of the awning.

After a while, they cleaned up at the showers, put their casual clothes back on, gathered their souvenirs, boarded the convertibles, and headed home. Shenzi and Chuckie snuggled with each other the whole way, feeling drowsy from the exciting day. When he was dropped off at his house, along with Kimi, he shared another kiss with Shenzi, before bidding her goodbye and following his stepsister into the house.

The gang fell asleep in their respective beds, their minds flooded with memories of their fun day. But Shenzi and Chuckie had the greatest memories out of them all, no doubt about it.

* * *

 **(A/N: Yeah, K was a bit cheesy, but I kind of like how it turned out. You know the disclaimer.)**


	12. L: Love

**(A/N: The first part of this one was inspired by the Rugrats episode "I Do", while you can say that the third part was too. The second part was all me. Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **L- Love**

Summary: Shenzi Tuck and Chuckie Finster are believed to have had a thing for one another, ever since they were toddling, by the adults. Are they right? Will the two best friends ever get hitched? 

* * *

On a nice day, Tommy Pickles, Phil and Lil DeVille, and Chuckie Finster were playing tag around the backyard, as Dil Pickles watched from his C-shaped pillow by the big tree. A bit before Angelica Pickles, who was in a white and pastel green flower girl dress, arrived at the house, Shenzi Tuck came dashing in the backyard. "Hey, guys!" She ran up to the toddlers. "What're you doin'?"

Chuckie felt his heart pound in his chest whenever she was around, but didn't know why. She was currently wearing a black angel-sleeve dress with a pink leopard 2-layer skirt, and a pink ribbon bow on the waistline, a pink bow headband, and classic Converse low-tops. Her training pants were shown under her dress. "We're playing tag," Tommy replied, "Want to join us?"

"Okay!" She nodded with enthusiasm, then ran up to Chuckie and touched his shoulder. "You're it!" With cute giggles, she started running around the yard, joining her friends in the game.

After a few seconds, Angelica came up in her fancy dress, carrying a basket. "Hi, Angelica!" Chuckie greeted her. "Would you like to be it? 'Cause you know, I'm it right now, and if I touch you, you can be it!" Angelica looked annoyed. "I mean, if well uh, if you want to."

"Do I look like I'm dressed to play tag with a bunch of babies? I'm a flower girl!" She started picking yellow daisies out of the ground, and putting them in her basket.

"Um, Phil, would you like to be it?" Chuckie asked the twin boy.

"Wait, Chuckie!" Shenzi chimed in. "You can't ask someone if they want to be it! You have to tag 'em!"

"He's a stinky tagger," Lil remarked.

"Oh yeah? Well, you tag too hard!" Chuckie retorted.

"Nuh-uh!" The twin girl shook her head, with her arms crossed.

"Uh huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh huh!"

"Um, maybe we should, better play another game," Tommy suggested over the argument, "Uh, who wants to play hide and go peep?"

"I do!" Chuckie waved his hand.

"I do!" Shenzi repeated his actions.

Angelica stopped what she was doing upon hearing them, and turned to the toddlers. "Hey! You babies just said "I do"!" She pointed out. "You know what that means, don't ya?"

"Um, we want to play hide and go peep?" Chuckie guessed.

"No! It means you gotta get married, and have a wedding!"

"What's a wedding?" Lil asked her, as the blonde walked up to Shenzi, and gave her some of the flowers from her basket.

"It's when two people say "I do", and get married!" Angelica explained. "And then they're stuck together forever, for better or worser." She took a white cloth out of her basket, and tucked it under Shenzi's headband like a veil.

"Do we get to use glue?" Shenzi requested, but Angelica's unamused look said otherwise.

"Okay, you got your hat, and your flowers. Time to dress the gloom!" She took a small, purple bow off her basket, and walked up to Chuckie.

"Uh, I don't know about this." The bow was stuck onto the front of his shirt. "But I don't know how to be a gloom."

"All done!" Angelica walked up to the twins, and led them to the black-haired girl. "Now Phil, Lil, you guys get to... throw Shenzi away."

"Yay! I like weddings!" Phil smiled with excitement.

"Um, Angelica?" Tommy spoke up. "Can I play too?"

"Sure, Tommy. You can be the banister. He's the one that marries 'em. Now, where are we gonna find a ring bear?" After getting an idea, she walked up to Dil.

"But I don't know if I want to be stucked together forever with Shenzi, Tommy. Wouldn't she want to get back to her daddy someday? I don't want to hold her back."

"It's okay, Chuckie. It's gonna be fun!"

"Okay, Dil's the ring bear!" Angelica handed the 4-month-old baby two pacifiers. "And now, here comes the star of the wedding! The most _beautifulest_ flower girl in the whole wide world!" She started tossing the rest of the flowers around. " _Here come the bride! Here come the bride! Here come the bride! Here come the bride!_ " She turned to the toddlers. "Get over here, you dumb babies!" They walked up to her. " _Here come the bride!_ Okay, time to throw the bride away!" Phil and Lil grabbed Shenzi from behind, and were just barely able to lift her, but then, the three of them toppled over. They all laughed as they regained themselves. Angelica whispered in Tommy's ear, telling him what to say for the pretend ceremony.

"Who wants to be married?" He asked his friends.

"I do!" Shenzi waved her hand that didn't carry flowers.

Chuckie stayed quiet, but Angelica harshly nudged him. "I do! I guess..." The black-haired girl felt uneasy at his hesitance, and didn't know why.

Angelica then turned to Dil, who was playing with the pacifiers. "Hey, ring bear! Hand 'em over!" She held out her open hand to him, but he kept the pacifiers away. With a growl of frustration, she put her basket down and used both hands in attempts to pull them out of his hands. After a few tugs, she was successful; Dil looked sad, but kept quiet. "Here you go." She put one "ring" on Shenzi and Chuckie's fingers each. She then whispered in Tommy's ear again.

"I now denounce you man and wife!"

"Eh, close enough." Shenzi looked excited, while Chuckie looked nervous. "Okay, time for your wedding deception. Good thing I saved a little cake." She took a small piece out of her basket, broke it into two pieces, then gave them to the "couple." "You're s'posed to smush it in each other's faces!" She then ate her own piece.

"Fun!" Shenzi then pushed her cake onto Chuckie's face.

"Shenzi!" He exclaimed, then pushed his piece onto her face. She only laughed harder in response, and ate it up.

"Got any cake for us?" Phil asked Angelica eagerly.

"No time for that! These two gotta leave on their money-moon!" She pointed to the tool shed, and guided the "newlyweds" to the area. After they were seated in front of the trees, Angelica took out a juice box. "Ta-da!" She gave one to each of them, then left them alone.

After a few sips, Chuckie spoke up. "Well, I guess being married is okay, if you get juice." He and Shenzi then drank some more.

"Looks like they're having fun on their money-moon," Tommy remarked to the twins. "Uh, wish I could've gone."

"Yeah, me too," Phil agreed, "I'm thirsty."

"Me too," Lil added.

Meanwhile, Angelica was cleaning out the playhouse set up in the backyard. Or, she was tossing stuff out. After opening the door, she saw Chuckie and Shenzi still sitting at the shed, sipping juice. She walked up to them, her tiny hands clenched into fists. "Okay, money-moon's over! Time to go!" They followed her to the newly clean playhouse, where she pushed him in. "This is where you're gonna live now! Bye!" She then closed the door.

The two turned to look at the playhouse interior. "Wow! Our very own house!" Chuckie exclaimed.

"What'll we do now?" Shenzi wondered aloud.

"I dunno. What do married peoples do?"

"Hmm... they kiss each other," She shrugged, "That's all I know." She then kissed his cheek, surprising him and making a blush grow. She giggled at his stupefied expression. "Or, we can do something else. But what? You have any ideas?"

"Um... we can just talk, and I can make food."

"Okay!" Shenzi nodded, and they sat at the table. "So..." She hesitated.

"That's a uh, a nice dress," Chuckie complimented her.

"Thanks!" She timidly squirmed in her seat a bit. "My daddy boughted it for me!" They then stayed quiet, not knowing else what to say. "Okay um, you want to make some yummy food now?"

After inviting Tommy and the twins to "dinner" and watching "TV," and attempting to play outside, Angelica told the "couple" that they had no time for fun, because they had a baby now, giving Dil to Chuckie. They were then forced back into the house, before the door was slammed shut.

"Wow! We got a baby," He remarked.

"I wish we talkedid about it first. I don't know if I'm ready."

"Well, maybe it'll be fun!" Just then, Dil spit up on Chuckie's shirt. "D'oh!- Sometimes."

After several minutes of experiencing the marriage life, when Didi brought Dil into the house, the two toddlers decided to "marry" Tommy and the twins, so they all could be "stuck together" forever. When Angelica came up with a red wagon carrying Reptar and Cynthia and towed tin cans, she was outraged at what she saw, but that didn't stop them. Tommy offered for her to "marry" them all too, but she refused and walked away, to Chuckie, Shenzi, and the twins' relief.

After they ran around for a while, they decided to play with Tommy's ball. "Hey um, Chuckie?" Shenzi turned to the redhead next to her.

"Yeah?" He turned to her after pushing the ball to Lil.

"Do you think we'll ever get married, for real, like mommies and daddies do? When we're growed up?"

He had to think about that for a second. "Hmm... I think we will."

"Maybe... to each other?"

That surprised him; Did she really want to marry him, for real? "Um, po-possibly."

A shy smile grew as Tommy pushed the ball into her arms. "I hope so."

* * *

Years passed, and soon enough, Shenzi and Chuckie were now high school graduates. Not to mention they had been dating for almost 5 years now, and their love was strong as ever. She realized that she had a crush on him when they were both 11 years old, when he had a thing for Nicole Boscarelli; The jealousy she felt pretty much confirmed it. But they decided to wait until high school to start dating, and stay casual friends for until then.

One day, as they were on their way to a date in the mall, she was unaware that her loving boyfriend had a very special event planned. For the date, she was wearing a pink bralet, a black peplum tube top that showed her now fit, flat stomach, black mid-rise skinny jeans with studs along the front pockets, black leather Converse low-tops, a black belt with pyramid studs and pink bows, black rose earrings, and a pink hair extension in her long bangs, which now covered the left side of her face, including her black cat-eye prescription glasses.

As he drove to the mall in his new car, Shenzi couldn't help but stare at him from the passenger seat. Throughout the years, he grew into quite a handsome boy. His red hair, which was still wild, barely reached his shoulders, freckles still decorated his cheeks, and his purple rectangular glasses framed his eyes. And he wasn't very muscular, or not at all, but he was still thin and fit. She didn't think of him as a "man", because he was too cute for that term. "Enjoying the show?" His amused voice snapped her back to reality, as he chuckled at her flushed cheeks. They were at a red light that took a minute or two to change, so he took the time to look at her.

"S-sorry," She stammered.

"For what?"

"... For staring."

"It's okay," He assured her, with a quick kiss in her still raven-colored hair, making her blush deepen. The light turned green, so he continued driving; Without any more encounters with slow traffic lights, they made it to their destination. He parked in a spot close to the mall, then hand-in-hand, they walked into the building.

Chuckie's heart filled up with excitement as they each ordered classic hot dogs from the Burger King booth, with ketchup and mustard on his, and the same for hers but with relish as well, and small fries and drinks. They each got a Pepsi for their drinks, before they sat at a table with only two chairs. As they ate, he waited with anticipation for the perfect time to come, when he could make his move. He briefly felt inside the front, left pocket on his jeans for reassurance. "You okay?" Shenzi asked him. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, I uh, I was just... making sure my car keys were in there," He replied.

"Ohhh, okay," She nodded, while eating one of her fries after dipping it in ketchup. He felt relieved that she bought that. She may be very academically intelligent, but she had her gullible moments. Either way, she was adorable in his eyes. Not to mention beautiful.

This may be hard to believe, but the time he and Shenzi got "married" when they were toddlers was still somewhat fresh in his memory. He couldn't remember everything from that day, but he remembered enough. Something like that was hard to forget, especially when the girl you "marry" becomes your actual girlfriend.

When "Marry Me" by Jason Derulo started playing throughout the mall, his heart jumped. This was it. "Um, Sh-Shenzi?" She looked at him, with curiosity in her eyes. "I, I uh..." Dang it! He had it rehearsed with Kimi's help, and everything! How could he forget it now, when it meant the most?!

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

He sighed in distress. "Okay Shen, I had this planned out, but it seemed that it has abandoned me." She looked confused. "So... I'm going to just say it." He reached into his pocket, and took out a black ring with an 18kt white diamond. She gasped in surprise as it shined from the mall lights. "Shenzibeth Callie-Belle Tuck?"

"Y-yes?" She stamered, already getting emotional.

His smile grew, as he held the ring to her. "Will you marry me?"

She was on the verge of hyperventilating, before giving him her answer. "Oh, yes! Yes, I will!" Mall patrons cheered around them, as she practically leapt across the small table, and forced her lips on his, with emotional tears falling down her cheeks.

* * *

21-year-old Shenzi and Chuckie Finster, along with 21-year-old Wally and Phil DeVille watched as their respective children, 3-year-old Maya Finster and freshly-turned 2-year-old twins Parker and Harper DeVille, played in the Finsters' backyard. Maya had her father's skin color, albeit with a vague grey tint, his ears, his wild red hair, although it was slightly darker, his brown eyes, and his adorable freckles, while her skin tint, round black nose, and eye size came from her mother. Parker and Harper had Wally's long eyelashes and dirty blonde hair, and Phil's brown eyes. Parker was around 2 ½ minutes older than Harper, who had a purple bow in her short hair.

"Hey, guys!" Maya came up to them after they finished a game of tag. "You wanna play wedding? Harper, you be the flower girl, while Parker will be my gloom!"

Shenzi and Chuckie glanced at each other with knowing smiles. Now, that sounded familiar, didn't it?

* * *

 **(A/N: I hope L was good! You know the disclaimer. I pretty much came up with the last part on the spot, so it's very short.)**


	13. M: Makeover

**(A/N: Oh, writers' block. How I hate you so. This one was inspired by the AGU episode "Trading Places." Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **M- Makeover**

Summary: When Shenzi's feeling mopey, Chuckie asks her what's wrong, yearning to make her happy. When she tells him, he tries his very best to solve her problem. What happens? Not to mention she makes a new friend out of an acquaintance. Who is it? You'll be very surprised! 

* * *

11-year-old Chuckie Finster walked into Jim Jr. Junior High School on a nice day, feeling kind of... happy? Casual? Yeah, casual. His best friend, fellow 5th grader Shenzi Tuck, accidentally missed the bus, so he was looking forward to seeing her when she should arrive. His heart leaped when he saw her coming, but he then noticed that she looked kind of down. When she sat next to him in their history class, he saw that she seemed to be depressed... or conflicted. "Hey, Shen. What's wrong?"

"Huh?" She glanced at him. "Oh, um, n-nothing. I'm just tired; I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

He had some doubts about that, considering she didn't have bags under her eyes or a look of fatigue, but he kept quiet. He didn't want to make her feel stressed out when the day was just getting started. Or at all in that matter. He hated seeing his best friend depressed, angry, or anything except happy and excited. Her smile was too pretty to not enrich her face constantly. Not that her face needed any enrichment anyway; She practically brought the definition of beautiful to life. She brightened up his day just by being in his peripherals, whether she knew it or not.

During lunch, she sat at a vacant table by herself, and ate her lunch despondently. When Chuckie saw her alone, he sat across from her with his lunch tray. "Shen?" She glanced at him. "Are you sure you're okay? Frankie told me that you go to bed earlier than everyone at your house, so you being tired isn't very likely. You can tell me."

Shenzi hesitated for a second. "Um, if I tell you, do you promise to not think differently of me?"

"I promise," He nodded, "You can trust me."

"Well... you see, I... I want to give my bedroom a makeover," She admitted, "It's a little juevenile for me now."

"O-oh," He stammered, "Okay. So uh, what's the problem then?"

"I can't ask my parents for something that big," She shrugged, "They already spent a buttload on a room makeover for Frankie; I can't ask them to spend another buttload."

"Well, if Frankie had her room made over, then it's only fair that you get that too, if you want it."

"Y-yeah, but I just feel uncomfortable asking my parents for something that big." After they finished their lunches, the bell rang. "We'd better get ready for math class." They stood up, threw out their trash, and headed for their lockers to grab their math books.

During the class, Chuckie made his decision: Enlist the help of his friends, and Shenzi's parents, to give her room a makeover. This will be the greatest surprise she would ever receive; He knew it! Kimi was staying with her father for Children's Day, thus was excused from school so long as she caught up on missed days, so they would need Angelica again. Oy. He decided to discuss it with their friends at his house after school should end for the day. He just prayed that Shenzi wouldn't try to come over on impulse, at least not too soon. Her visits always brightened his day. She always had something new to talk about with him, and enjoyed any fun times he had to offer, no matter what they were.

At his house, Chuckie sat with brothers Tommy and Dil Pickles, their cousin Angelica Pickles, twins Phil and DeVille, and Shenzi's stepsister Frankie Tuck in the living room. Kira was grocery shopping, while Chaz was at the Java Lava for his shift. "Okay guys, I asked her what was bringing her down, and she said that she wants a room makeover, but can't ask her parents. So, we'll be doing it ourselves!"

"We're re-doing a bedroom again?" Phil raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. "Need I remind you what happened last time we did? It turned into a disaster, Kimi hated the results, and your dad grounded you for a week for ruining his records."

"I-I know, but this is Shenzi Tuck we're talking about."

"That's what you said last time abou..."

"I know what I said!" Chuckie exclaimed. "But Shenzi's the most grateful girl that I know." He quickly turned to Lil, Frankie, and Angelica. "Uh, no offense, guys."

"None taken," Lil replied.

"Yeah, it's okay," Frankie added.

"Eh," Angelica shrugged.

"So, we'll start tomorrow. Good thing that's Saturday. Frankie, we can discuss the plan with your parents, and if they agree on it, they can help us. We can get authentic things instead of trying to make them ourselves, since obviously, that kind of flopped out last time."

"Angelica, can you keep Shenzi busy that day?" Tommy requested.

"I'm not allowed in the hospital again until I have a real emergency, or if I'm visiting someone! You know that!" She snapped.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "We didn't tell you to fake any injuries, and we're not now. Just take her to the mall, and keep her away from her house until we give you the signal. We'll call you."

"Fine," She reluctantly gave in, "But if I'm banned from the mall for good, it's on all of you."

* * *

Saturday came quickly for the group of friends. When Shenzi passed by her bedroom after refreshing herself, she sighed despondently, before she trudged in the living room, sat on the couch, and turned on the TV to watch an interior designing show. She sighed again as a little girl's bedroom was given a fabulous, Disney Princesses makeover. ' _Why can't it be that easy for me?_ ' She thought to herself.

"Hey, Shenzi!" Angelica's sudden entrance startled her. "I heard you've been feeling down, so I'm going to cheer you up with a shopping trip! It's all on me!"

She was legitimately surprised at that. This wasn't like her at all. "Y-you want to cheer me up?"

"Of course! You're my friend!"

"B-but we barely know each other."

"Oh, come on! We know each other!"

Shenzi was skeptical. "What's my favorite color to pair with black?"

Angelica had to think about it for a second. She wore black with a lot of colors; Although she wore one more than the others. "Uh, p-pink?"

Shenzi paused for a second. "Lucky guess. Okay, let's go. Perhaps it will cheer me up." She was surprised when Angelica suddenly grabbed her wrist, and practically dragged her out the door. They took a bus to the Big Mall, while unknowingly to her, the rest of the group were hiding out at her house.

"Okay guys, we're good to go," Tommy reported back after watching the two girls leave.

"Let's do this," Frankie nodded. Her parents, Felicia and Friar Tuck heard about Shenzi's dilemma, and agreed to help them.

"How do we start?" Chuckie wondered aloud.

"We'll paint the walls, and replace the carpet first," Felicia replied, "That way, we won't be moving stuff back and forth. We'll go to the paint store, then elsewhere for a new carpet. We'll store the old one in the attic, along with her old furniture."

"What about her plushes?" Frankie wondered aloud.

"Uh, we-we'll keep those intact!" Chuckie quickly said. "We didn't do that for Kimi's room makeover, and it didn't go well."

"Ohh, okay," Frankie understood.

"What happened with that?" Felicia asked him. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, we used the stuffing from her plushes for the makeover, and she was sad about that," Chuckie explained, "Although Mom fixed them up."

"Ah. Well, I think that Shenzi would be devastated if we did that, so we'll go with something else."

"Good call," Tommy nodded, "So... paint first."

"I'll take you girls to pick out a color for the walls," Felicia offered, "You boys stay here, and try to move the furniture and such out of the room."

"Aye aye, Captain," Phil did a salute. She and the girls then headed downstairs and outside to the family car as Friar Tuck and the boys started to do their tasks.

At The Big Mall, Shenzi was practically dragged into Juicy Couture, where Angelica was like a kid in a candy store. Or in her case, her 3-year-old self in a toy store. "Angelica, I can't afford this stuff! I was lucky to get a tracksuit, lounge shorts, and a short-sleeved hoodie! That's all I need from this brand!"

"Oh relax," Angelica looked through the jewelry that was guaranteed to make all of Shenzi's money disappear, "I said that it's on me. I don't care if you don't find anything you like here. I'm looking here for me."

Shenzi held back an eye roll, and let her browse. After all, the shopping spree wasn't all about her. It was only fair. "O-okay, but try not to take too long, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

This time, she did roll her eyes. As she waited, she gazed around the store. She felt out of place in the almost all pink store, while wearing almost all black. She was in a black cap-sleeve shirt with slashes on the sleeves and upper chest, a skulls and red roses printed vest top under it, a matching short skirt, black combat boots folded down so the lining, which had skulls and red roses, was showing, white skull earrings with black outlines, a red rose clip in her black hair, and a light green extension in her long bangs over her left eye, including her black cat-eye prescription glasses. She received a few stares from other patrons, but ignored them as she followed Angelica around the store. She did browse a little bit herself along the way.

After a while, Angelica was done, so after she paid for her purchases, they exited the store. "Can we go there?" Shenzi requested, pointing to Hot Topic close by. It was her favorite store out of them all.

"In _there?_ " Angelica looked weirded out. "But that's full of Goth and geek at the same time."

She crossed her arms with half-shut eyes. "We went to the store you wanted to shop at; Isn't it only fair that we go to where I want to go? I can just head home if you don't want to..."

"No!" Angelica hastily cut her off, surprising her. "We-we'll go! Come on!" She grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her into the dark store, where loud music videos were playing on a TV. "Take your time! Pick anything you want! It's all on me!"

"You sure?"

"Absolutely! My parents will understand!"

"O-okay then." With that, Shenzi started browsing. Despite Angelica's surprisingly generous offer, she was trying to not pick anything too pricey. She hated for her to get in trouble with her parents. After a while, she came up to Angelica, who, to her surprise, was actually browsing the inventory. Shenzi had picked out an Alice in Wonderland themed bikini with a ruffle-strapped top and skirted bottoms, and two puff ball hair clips, one black and one light blue.

"You done? Okay, let's get these paid for." The two girls walked to the register, where Angelica paid for their purchases. "I bet that bikini will look great on you."

That surprised Shenzi more than anything. Did Angelica just give her a compliment? On her own? That was definitely new. "Th-thanks. I hope I do."

"You're welcome. Now, where to next?" She then spotted another store close by that caught her interest. "Ooh! Betsey Johnson! Let's go there!"

"Okay." Both girls ran to inside the store, and started browsing right away. As Shenzi looked at the swimwear, she wondered what was going on at home.

* * *

At the Tuck house, the girls arrived home a bit after the guys lugged out everything from Shenzi's room. "We're back, fellas!" Frankie called out.

Chuckie came running up to them. "Here, I'll help with that." He went to help Felicia with the new carpeting.

"Oh, no thanks, I'm alright," She kindly declined his offer.

"What color paint did you guys get?" He looked at the can in Frankie's hands, and saw that it was a dark pink-ish purple color. "That looks great! It just screams "Shenzi!" Let's get started!"

While the girls painted the walls, the guys went to Ikea for new furniture after a while of helping the girls.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Big Mall, Shenzi and Angelica were still shopping at Betsey Johnson. Here, the former was more eager to pick something out. How often did you get to wear something from _Betsey Johnson?!_ Not very! So, no matter how wrong it felt, she was going to pick something, and not hold back... too much. She decided on a Swan Lake dress, a matching halter triangle bikini top, skirted bikini bottoms to go with it, and a black and purple strapless evening dress. When she held one in her size up to her body to see how it would look, a store employee said that it would look great on her, so she decided to go for it.

After leaving, they looked around to see where to go next. As they wandered the large mall, "Perfect Day" by Hoku from Legally Blonde started playing. "I love this song!" Angelica exclaimed.

"Me too!" Shenzi agreed. They started singing along as they practically danced along the mall, receiving stares but dismissing them. Small items had fallen out of their bags, but luckily, they noticed right away and grabbed them before anyone else could. "Ooh, there's the Disney Store!" She pointed out exactly after the song and their laughing fit was over. "Let's stop there!" This time, she was the one who was doing the dragging, as she and Angelica ran inside the store. The older girl didn't find anything, but Shenzi picked out a Jack Skellington Tsum Tsum crossbody bag.

"Y'know Shenzi, I'm getting kind of hungry," Angelica remarked as they walked out of the shoe store, "What do you say we get some lunch?"

"Okay," She nodded, "I'm hungry too. What do you like to eat?"

The girls decided on tacos from the Chipotle booth. Angelica didn't know what to get, since she never ate there, so Shenzi let her copy her order. They sat at a table with only two chairs, with their shopping bags at their feet where they could always see them. "Y-know Angelica, even though I'm still surprised that you took me here selflessly, I'm having a lot of fun."

"Well Tuck, I am too." Just then, something a distance away caught her eye. "Hey, after we're done, what do you say we try out that Mall Jump thing?"

Shenzi's eyes widened, before she swallowed her chicken/cheese-filled taco bite. "The what? Oh, I uh, I'm afraid of heights."

"Don't be a baby; They don't let anyone get hurt or killed on it. Come on."

Shenzi thought about it as she ate her last bite. "Well... alright, we'll try it. But after our food's fully digested." She sipped the last of her Pepsi.

After a few minutes, they headed for that area. As they walked, Shenzi wondered what her parents and sister were up to.

* * *

"That looks great!" Chuckie exclaimed after the makeover was officially done. "Shenzi will love it!"

"Now that we're finished, I'll give Angelica the signal." Tommy walked to the house phone, and dialed Angelica's number. "I hope they're not busy with anything important." After one ring, he hung up. "Okay, the signal's been sent." He took out his video camera. "Now, we wait."

"I'll keep watch," Lil volunteered; She stood at the staircase where she wouldn't be seen from downstairs.

* * *

"You sure about this place, Angelica?" Shenzi felt hesitant. They just exited the Mall Jump, where they had a blast. Now, they were heading for a certain store that if she shopped there, her parents would kill her.

"Positive! It's not like you're dumb enough to look at the adult junk, right?"

"Wel, n-no I'm not, but..."

"Then we're fine! It's like your favorite store." The two girls entered the store, where an employee was kind of surprised to see girls as young as them in a store like this.

"Welcome to Spencer's, ladies," He greeted them, hiding his puzzlement.

"H-hi," She greeted him back. Avoiding the adult section as much as possible, she simply looked at the necklaces, while Angelica looked at the non-adult skirts and the jackets. Shenzi finally found a silver cross necklace with a tiny, purple rose on it.

Just as they exited the store with their purchases, Angelica's phone suddenly rang. She looked at the Caller ID, and her eyes widened when she saw it was Tommy. They had to get back! "Who called?"

The blonde turned to the younger girl. "Uh, wr-wrong number. Okay, we need to get back to your house!" Before Shenzi could ask why, Angelica grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her out the front entrance, along the sidewalks and walkways, and up to her house. They hastily entered with their multiple shopping bags in hand, so they stood in the living room.

"So, why did we have to come here so urgently?"

"Never mind that, let's put your new clothes up in your room!" Angelica ran up the stairs, with the stumbling younger girl in tow as the rest of the gang prepared themselves. She then stopped at the edge of the staircase. "After you."

Feeling completely and utterly confused, Shenzi slowly walked to her room, not expecting what was about to happen. "Surprise!" The gang, plus her parents, yelled excitedly after the light was turned on.

Shenzi gasped in shock, dropping her bags on the floor as she stared. All of a sudden, instead of looking bright and princess-y, her bedroom was now a Goth's paradise! The walls were a dark pink-ish purple, a soft, black carpet covered the floor, her bed suddenly had a black lacey canopy over it, along with Gothic Alice in Wonderland sheets and pillowcases. Her closet, which had enough room for her new clothes, now had black lacey curtains that could be pulled back, along with a short dresser for her bottoms, hosiery, lingerie, and swimwear. A black nightstand featured a necklace display, a rack for her colorful hair extensions, another box for her hair accessories, and a Haunted Mansion-themed jewelry box. Black semi-cheer drapes lined her windows, which had black sills. Posters of her favorite celebrities and movies decorated the walls. A black full-body mirror stood by the closet, and a black chandelier was the new main source of light. "Wh...?!"

"Welcome to your new hip, dark, mysterious pad!" Chuckie came up in of her. "So, what do you think?"

She stayed quiet in shock as she looked around again. "I... oh my God, I love it!" She walked around the room in awe. "This is amazing!" She hugged everyone in turn. "Whose idea was this?!" Chuckie shyly stepped up to her again as he was either pointed at or gestured to. "Chuckie?!" She jumped on him in another tight embrace. "Oh, Chuckie! You're the best!" She looked around the room once more from her place in the redhead's arms. "I can't believe it!" She kissed his cheek, surprising everyone else, especially him. "This is better than I ever dreamed of! Not that I've dreamed of how my room would look after a makeover, but still! This is the greatest thing anyone's ever done for me! Thanks, everyone!"

After a while of hanging out in Shenzi's new room, showing her anything small, her friends started leaving, but before Chuckie could, she stopped him. "Chuckie, wait!"

He turned around to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Y-you want to sleep over tonight? The whole makeover was your idea; You should have the honor of being my first sleepover guest in it."

Chuckie smiled at her request. "I'd love to. I'll ask my parents first, and if they say yes, I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, he left for his house.

After a few minutes of lounging on the couch, she decided to wait for him in her new bedroom. As her parents tried to think of what to make for dinner, she eagerly ran upstairs, flopped face-up on her bed, and admired her new surroundings. Her family and friends really outdid themselves; It was truly the bedroom of her dreams. There was even a lamp with a black light bulb on the new desk! And a select few of the posters glowed in black light! The desk now featured a rod-like black light in a portable fixture, a cup for her writing utensils, a clip for holding paper in place, and drawers for anything she wanted to store. There were also hooks for her purse and backpack by the door. She didn't want to get out of bed; The new sheets and covers were so comfortable! But she would have to soon.

Her heart leapt with excitement when she heard the door open, followed by familiar footsteps. "Shenzi?" It was Chuckie! "My parents said I can stay here! Where are... wait, hang on." She heard his footsteps up the stairs, before she saw him walk in her room. "I had a feeling you'd be in here." He sat on the foot of her bed as she sat up and crossed her legs. "So, um... you like the sheets?"

"Uh huh," She nodded, "They're so comfortable. I bet I'll sleep good tonight."

"Yeah," He agreed, "It-it's like you're living with the Addams Family, isn't it?" She giggled. "Your parents and sister helped with the vibe it would give, and the style. And... so did I. So... how was shopping with Angelica?"

"It was fun," She replied, "Which reminds me." She jumped on the floor. "I need to put my new stuff away." She showed him everything she got as she took them out of their respective bag. He was very surprised when he heard that Angelica paid for everything she bought. She giggled at the blush on his cheeks when he saw the bikinis.

"Those are great," He remarked after everything was put away. "You have good taste."

"Thanks," She blushed, sitting next to him. She almost questioned how he knew about her shopping spree with Angelica, but remembered that she was in on the plan, so she forgot about the question.

Later that night, after they ate tomato soup with Goldfish and turkey sandwiches with ketchup, mustard, and cheddar cheese sauce for dinner and brushing their teeth, Shenzi and Chuckie hung out in her new room. She had changed into a Batman-printed sleep dress that she bought at Spencer's, with Batman boxer shorts that she already owned underneath. "I gotta say Chuck, you guys really outdid yourselves. My new room is amazing!" She hugged him for what seemed like the hundredth time. He didn't mind, though; He loved her hugs anyway. "How can I ever thank you?"

"Aww, you don't have to do anything," Chuckie assured her, "You appreciating it is enough for me." Then without thinking, he whispered something to himself. "If only that was the case last time."

"Huh?"

"What? Oh um, n-nothing. I was just thinking about something that happened a while back."

"I hate to be nosy, but what happened?"

"You're fine. You see, Kimi was really upset about something and wouldn't tell me or anyone else. And at one point, she said that she hated her room and everything in it, so I just assumed that her room was her problem." She nodded in agreement. "That's understandable. G-go on." "'Kay. So um, I gathered Tommy, Dil, and the twins at my house to help with the makeover. Angelica kept her busy while we did this. But when Kimi saw it, she said she hated it." Shenzi's heart broke at that. After all the hard work, he and their friends did, and Kimi straight out despised the results? "So, she finally told me what was bothering her."

"Well, you don't have to tell me," She assured him, "I... I heard enough. I'm sorry she didn't appreciate your efforts."

"It's okay, it's not your fault. I'm just really glad that you love yours."

She smiled again, and laid on his shoulder, making him blush. "I really do. It's wonderful. Thanks so much."

"You're very welcome," His hands laid on her back and in her soft, black hair, as his head carefully rested on hers. For some reason, Chuckie loved holding Shenzi in his arms like he was now. He didn't want to let her go, ever. He could smell her shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, all of which had a green apple scent. It was enticing, inviting, and... kind of intoxicating. He stared at what was behind his best friend; Her bed's headboard, her pillows, and some of her plush toys. "Shen, I..." She looked up at him, but kept her head on his shoulder. "This isn't really my style, but... I do admit, it turned out great."

"It's wonderful," She remarked, "Like I said, it's the best thing anyone's ever done for me." She leaned her head upward a bit, and kissed his blushing cheek. "It means a lot."

When she straightened up, their noses were less than half an inch away from touching. Their cheeks were as red as his hair as their breath mingled. Chuckie didn't know what to do; If he kissed her, would she kiss him back, or get scared and kick him out? But then again, if he didn't do anything, then he would hurt her feelings, and their friendship would be doomed. Although his decision was made for him; Shenzi leaned in closer, and her tiny lips connected with his. Her hands were on his upper arms, while his were on her neck and cheeks as the sweet, yet innocent kiss lasted a few seconds.

When they separated, they gazed into each other's eyes as the blush on their cheeks had deepened. Chuckie waited for her reaction to the romantic moment they just had. He felt relieved when she smiled at him, turned around, and laid her back on his shoulder. "Like I said earlier: You're the best." She rested her head on his.

"I don't know about that." He couldn't help but feel modest. "I was just doing what a guy does when a girl is sad or troubled; Make her feel better."

"Well, you are the best," She insisted, "Um... d-do you want to hang out at the mall tomorrow?"

"You just went there," He chuckled. "Yeah, but... I want to go with you. We don't have to shop or anything. We can have lunch, play in the arcade..."

"I think that sounds nice," His hands clasped together on her lap, "How about at around noon?"

"It's a date," Her smile grew, before a yawn escaped. She rubbed her eyes like a child as she laid back on his shoulder. "I'm getting tired."

"I bet," Chuckie smiled down at her, "You've had a long day. Let's go to sleep."

When he went to set up his sleeping bag on the floor, Shenzi stopped him. "What're you doing?"

"I'm setting up my sleeping bag."

"Who says you're sleeping on the floor?" She giggled. "Come on, sleep up here with me. I don't bite."

"Um, o-okay then." Chuckie climbed back to the middle of the bed, and laid at the left side as Shenzi crawled up to him after turning off the light. "That chandelier was a pain in the butt to install."

Shenzi giggled in her hand. "It seems like it. It looks great." She laid her head and hand on his chest. "G'night, Chuck."

"'Night, Tuck." She giggled some more at his rhyme. He set their glasses on the nightstand, and turned off the lava lamp, which looked like it had a volcano inside. The two friends then drifted off to sleep in each others' arms, feeling excited about their upcoming date.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, there's M. You know the disclaimer. I have no idea if Angelica is really in-character here.)**


	14. N: Never Grow Up

**N- Never Grow Up**

Summary: Chuckie and Shenzi Finster go to the beach with their toddling daughter, Maya, for her first time. She's growing up so fast, that her loving parents can't keep up. 

* * *

"We're ready, Daddy!" 3-year-old Maya Finster's innocent voice rang throughout the hallway of her maternal grandparents' house.

"Are you?" 21-year-old Shenzi Finster knocked on her former bedroom door. "We've never been ready before you, right honey?" She glanced at her daughter, who giggled.

"Almost," 22-year-old Chuckie Finster replied from the other side of the door, "I'm just trying to look for the perfect swim trunks."

"Here, I'll help you. Are you decent?"

"Yeah."

Shenzi opened the door, and entered her former bedroom, where she found her handsome husband looking through his suitcase. She walked up behind him, and kissed his cheek, surprising him, but he calmed down when he saw her next to him. "Let's see what you have here." She looked through the neatly-arranged contents in his suitcase for the perfect swim trunks. "Ooh! What about these? We all could match!"

"Umm, I dunno," He hesitated, "I'm not sure about wearing pink at the beach. It's different in your parents' pool."

"Aww, come on," She pouted, "Please? Guys wear pink all the time." She turned to Maya, who had walked in the room earlier. "Maya, don't you think Daddy should wear these today?" She held them up for her to see.

"Yes!" She agreed. "We can be matchies! Daddy, please?"

Chuckie felt his heart melt from his wife and daughter's pleading expressions. Saying no to one of them was already impossible, but to both of them? That was just unthinkable. "O-okay," He chuckled.

"Yay!" Shenzi and Maya cheered.

"Okay, we'll let you get dressed," The black-haired young woman headed for the doorway, guiding her red-haired daughter along the way, "We'll be in the living room."

"Alright."

The two girls walked and sat in the living room, where Shenzi's parents waited with them. They weren't going to the beach with their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter; They just loved being around them. "Yay! We're going to the beach as matchies!" Maya cheered as she ran around in front of the couch, amusing the adults.

Shenzi's parents, Felicia and Friar Tuck smiled as they watched their granddaughter. It was like a young Shenzi was right there in front of them. Just like her, she was a bundle of energy who seemed to never get tired. It was adorable.

"I'm ready!" Chuckie ran in the living room.

"Ooh, you look great!" Shenzi smiled at him.

"Thanks, Shen." He was wearing black swim trunks with pink palm trees on them, a simple black t-shirt, black flip-flops, and held a black Converse All-Stars bucket hat in one hand. His wife matched him in a black rayon short-sleeved babydoll dress, black and pink flip-flops, a black visor hat, and black rose earrings. Under her dress was a black, pink, and purple lips printed peplum tankini top and matching hipster bottoms. She carried a plain black beach bag in one hand, containing their towels, toys, and sunblock. Maya was in a white sleeveless dress with a black skirt, and a pink bow waistband and trimming only on the skirt, pink and black Nike sandals, a light pink visor hat, and carried her plush Dalmatian puppy, Georgia, in her arms. She wore a black and pink Batgirl tankini under her dress. Chuckie's beach towel was a plain black, Shenzi's was pink and from Victoria's Secret, with "PINK" in black letters, and Maya's was white and light pink with a Minnie Mouse hood.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Maya jumped up and down with excitement.

"Alright, we're going," The male redhead chuckled at his adorable daughter. "Come on, babe." Shenzi turned to her parents. "We'll be back momentarily."

"Have fun," Felicia told them, "And be careful."

"We will," Chuckie nodded, "Bye!"

"Bye!" Maya waved to her grandparents.

"Bye, baby," Felicia smiled down at her.

"You have fun, alright?" Friar Tuck smiled at their granddaughter.

"I will!" With that, the family of 3 gathered in the red Mini Cooper, with Chuckie in the drivers' seat, and they started heading for their destination.

"You look so handsome, Chuckie," Shenzi kissed her husband's cheek.

"Thanks Shen," He blushed, "And you look very lovely."

Her cheeks flushed as she shyly averted her gaze. "Thanks, babe." She laid her hand on his arm as he continued driving. She then turned back at their daughter, who looked very excited. "Maya, isn't Daddy handsome?"

"Uh huh!" She nodded. "And you're very pretty, Mommy!"

"Aww, thanks sweetie," Shenzi shifted back in her seat, so she gazed out the windows, admiring the clear sky and the palm trees that lined the streets. California was truly paradise, especially with her loving husband, and her angelic daughter by her side. She stifled a yawn as she watched the scenery roll by. It was quite early in the morning, around 7, so she was very tired. Maya had fallen asleep in her booster seat a few minutes ago, while Chuckie was fighting to keep his eyes open and focused. "D-do you want me to drive, Chuckie?"

"No thanks," He shook his head as he let a yawn out, "I'm fine. We're almost there anyway."

"Yay," She smiled sleepily, before glancing back at their sleeping daughter. "This'll be Maya's first time at the beach."

"Yep," He nodded, "I bet she'll love it."

"I know she will. She loves everything, basically."

"That is true." Just then, he stopped the car in the parking lot, at a wooden beam separating the concrete from the sand. "We're here, ladies!" He turned the car off, and jumped out on the concrete.

"Maya, we're here!" Shenzi followed his lead.

The red-haired toddler practically shot awake. "What? We're here?! Yay!" When Shenzi opened her door and undid her seat belt, Maya practically leapt out of the car as her mother grabbed their beach bag.

"Whoa, whoa!" Chuckie carefully grabbed Maya's shoulders when she tried to run towards the ocean. "Hold on there, little speedster. We need to use sunblock first." As Shenzi kept her still, he applied sunblock on himself, chuckling at his wife staring at him after his shirt was stripped off. He never saw himself as attractive, but Shenzi always did, for the whole time they knew each other. Maybe Maya did as well, in an innocent way.

After he finished, he put his shirt back on, and gave the sunblock to Shenzi. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Chuck." She accepted the bottle, squirted some in one hand, and started rubbing it on her body. Chuckie blushed when her hands and arms pushed her dress up, fully revealing her long legs and slender shoulders. She giggled when she saw him staring, as she started rubbing her arms, neck, ears, and face after briefly removing her glasses. "Can you put some on Maya?"

"Sure thing," Chuckie nodded, and held the bottle in his hand. "Okay, come here, you." He gently pulled Maya closer to him by her shoulders, squirted a bit of sunblock on his hand, then started rubbing his daughter's arms and shoulders. When his hands sneaked under her dress to get her stomach and sides, she started squirming with her shoulders hunched up. "Hold still," He chuckled.

"It tickles!" She giggled.

"Well sweetheart, the Tickle Monster doesn't want you to get hurt from the sun," He smiled at her. She grimaced when he gently rubbed her face, and her shoulders hunched up again when he applied sunblock on her neck. "Okay, we're done. Let's hit that sand!" After they were on the other side of the beams, Chuckie chuckled and Shenzi giggled when Maya literally hit the sand with her toy shovel.

"There's a good place over there," Shenzi pointed to an empty area, where they would be close enough to the sea without getting hit by the waves.

"Yeah, that is good," Chuckie nodded, as he put his hat on his head, pressing his wild hair down, "Let's set up there." While holding hands with his favorite girls, he walked towards the spot suggested by his wife. He had to carefully tighten his grip on Maya's hand when she tried to run ahead from excitement. After seeing a home video of his wife at 2-3 years old, he joined his in-laws in believing that his daughter was a true incarnation of Shenzi Tuck. Er, Shenzi _Finster._

Before long, they arrived at the spot after having to shake sand out of their shoes multiple times. "Here we are!" Shenzi took out her towel from the bag and spread it out, then set Chuckie's next to it, and sat on hers.

Chuckie sighed in relief as he sat closely next to his lovely wife. "Let's eat, shall we?" He reached in the beach bag, and took out 2 takeout bags from Burger King, one containing his and Shenzi's classic hot dogs, and the other containing Maya's fries/nuggets kids' meal. Maya enjoyed the novelty Cynthia toy from the meal, as she and her parents ate their lunches, watching the waves wash up, then retreat in a pattern, and other beach patrons.

Soon, Maya finished her lunch first, sucking her fingertips after eating her last nugget. "I'm done!"

"You're fast," Chuckie remarked amusedly, before he took a bite out of his hot dog. His and Shenzi's fries were already done.

"You and Mommy are slowpokes, Daddy!" She giggled.

"Apparently," He chuckled, "You can play in the water after a few minutes."

"Why do I have to wait?"

"Because if you don't, then you'll get a tummy ache from moving too much while your food digests."

"Ohhh." She played with her BK toy as she waited for the minutes to pass.

Shenzi felt concerned when Chuckie started grimacing a bit. "Chuckie, you okay?"

Maya looked up at him. "What's wrong, Daddy?"

He held up his index finger for "one second", before he carefully punched his chest and let out a loud burp. "Whoa! Excuse me!" He snickered.

The two girls burst into fits of laughter. "Th-that was a big one!" Shenzi giggled hysterically.

"That was funny, Daddy!"

"Thanks girls," He smiled at them in turn. None of them noticed the stares they received from other beach goers, Chuckie's loud burp and the girls' equally loud laughter attracting attention.

After a few minutes, the family of 3 stripped out of their day clothes, the girls their dresses and Chuckie his shirt, and ran to play in the waves. Shenzi tackled her husband so he was soaked in an instant, and he was kept down by her and Maya, although his head wasn't submerged. He managed to tackle them as well, although he was more careful with their daughter. He then engaged in a tickle fight with both of them, as the waves washed up on them repeatedly. The girls' squeals and screams of laughter made other beach patrons stare at them, but the family ignored them; Their fun time was more important than strangers, anyway.

A while later, Shenzi and Chuckie relaxed on their towels as they watched Maya join a group of kids around her age in building sand castles. "Hey, you have Mickey Mouse on your swimsuit!"

The 4-year-old boy nodded. "Uh huh! My mommy and daddy boughted it for me at Disneyland! Have you been there?"

Maya thought about it before shaking her head. "Uh-uh, I haven't."

"Really?" Another 3-year-old girl, wearing a Snow White swimsuit, widened her eyes. "Never?" Maya shook her head again. "Your mommy and daddy sound bad!" The boy nodded in agreement.

Maya's eyes widened, before she glared at them angrily. "They are not bad! They are the bestest mommy and daddy in the whole wild world!"

"Not if they haven't taken you to, what my mommy and daddy call, the "happiest place on Earth"," The girl used air quotes.

"Well, I don't care! They're the bestest mommy and daddy any kid could ask for!" Tears filling and falling, she then ran to her parents and practically jumped in Chuckie's lap.

"What's wrong, little Mayflower?" He asked her in concern. Mayflower was a nickname he gave her a few days after she was born.

"Th-those kids over there s-said that you and Mommy are bad! Just because I haven't been to Disneyland!"

Shenzi rubbed the child's back over her swimsuit in attempts of comfort. "It's okay, baby. Don't listen to them."

"Yeah, they don't know what they're talking about," Chuckie added. One thing he kept to himself was, he and his wife actually planned on taking her to Disneyland at some near point. They intended on it being a surprise. "Just because we haven't taken you to a certain place, doesn't mean we're bad parents. It's not like we haven't enrolled you in your preschool or anything." He thought for a few seconds. "Hey, how about we play in the water some more, what do you say?"

Maya sniffled and wiped her eyes as she gazed up at him. "O-okay."

"Atta girl." He gently set her on the towel, stood up, and held her hand. "You coming, Shen?" He asked his wife when she stayed out.

"I'm kind of tired," Shenzi shrugged, as she laid back against the bag, "I'll just watch."

"Okay then," Chuckie turned to Maya, "Let's get to it."

Shenzi smiled as she watched her loving husband and precious daughter have fun together, as waves washed on them repeatedly. She truly had the best family anyone could ask for; Loving parents, supportive stepsister, devoted husband, and angelic daughter. Not to mention she had wonderful in-laws, and an adorable nephew. Her chin rested on her knees as she watched the sweet scene before her; Chuckie was helping Maya build a sand castle, one superior to the one made by the two brats from earlier. She wished that parents would control what their kids say. She and Chuckie definitely did that with Maya, and planned on continuing in the future.

Maya Melinda Finster was going to be a good girl, not a troublemaker. Shenzi and Chuckie would make sure of it.

After the sand castle was completed, Maya sat in Chuckie's lap as they admired it. "That's a very nice castle, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Daddy."

He then let his thoughts occupy him; His daughter was growing up so fast, he could hardly keep up. Before he would know it, she was going to start... dating. Now he knew how his father Chaz felt about Kimi, and his father-in-law Friar Tuck about Shenzi. Simply thinking about Maya dating was hard enough; He didn't think he could handle it when it should actually happen. "Hey, Maya?"

She looked up at him, innocence shining in her big, brown eyes. "Yes, Daddy?"

He hesitated for a second, thinking that she wouldn't understand what he wanted to say. "Um, I, pro-promise me that you won't grow up too fast."

Just as he feared, she looked confused, but thankfully, she seemed to understand. "I promise."

He smiled lovingly at her. "Thanks, babygirl." He took her in his arms, and hugged her as she sat in his lap. She rested on his chest, as his cheek was in her soft hair. She was truly the perfect combo of him and his beautiful wife; Dark red hair, peachy pale skin with a slight grey tint, freckles, and large eyes. She was, and will be a lovely girl.

"Can I join in?" Shenzi crawled up to them, and joined the embrace with a giggle. The small family of 3 sat in the wet sand, relishing the sweet moment as waves relieved them of the heat. They received stares again, but didn't notice. They were going to be a loving family for the rest of their lives; They just knew it.

* * *

Years and years passed, and before long, Maya was all grown up. She was going to the beach with her boyfriend, Parker DeVille, for their one-year anniversary of when they started dating. She was wearing a denim-like bikini with hipster bottoms and a triangle top, and surprisingly, a belly button ring with a USA flag beandeau bikini charm. She daringly had her belly button pierced when she was 13, after Shenzi and Chuckie reluctantly let her. Chuckie was too squeamish when it came to piercings, so Shenzi took her to the parlor, which also had tattoos, and helped her through the pain, although she was strong.

Parker was currently driving his new convertible, which was royal blue, with the top down so the wind blew through their hair. He smiled as he saw his girlfriend rocking out to "California Gurls", as it played on the radio. She wasn't wearing anything other than her swimsuit, and flip-flops. No dress, shirt, shorts, or anything. Unlike her shy mother, Maya was very outgoing and loved attention. Although she was still the sweet, humble girl that he fell in love with. His denim-like swim trunks matched with her bikini very well, as he also wore a white wife-beater tank top.

When the song was over, he parked at the beam separating the concrete from the sand, turned off the car, and turned to his girlfriend. "We're here!"

"Yay!" Maya jumped out of the car, beach bag in hand, and practically dragged Parker to the sand as he hastily locked the car. He stumbled to keep up with her as they stopped at an empty area, so they were a good distance away from the ocean. They sat on their towels as they watched the waves wash in, then retreat into the sea in a pattern. The couple ate takeout from Hardee's for lunch, explored the shops (after Maya's persuasion), and played in the cold, salty water together. Parker had to shoo away any boys that gawked at his beautiful girlfriend.

When the evening started rolling in, they sat on their towels and enjoyed the peace and quiet as they watched the ocean again. "Happy anniversary, Parker," Maya smiled up at her handsome boyfriend. His dirty blond hair and brown eyes always made her heart skip.

"Happy anniversary, Maya," He kissed her cheek, before she laid on his shoulder.

She vaguely remembered the day her parents took her to this same beach when she was 3 years old. But one thing that stuck in her mind was her promise to her father: That she would never grow up. She wished that she had kept his promise, but it was against her will. She was still a kid, though; She was only 14 at this moment.

She may grow physically and mentally, but she'll always be young at heart. So, in a way, she was keeping her promise to her beloved father.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, I finally finished N. You know the disclaimer. I know the last part is kind of short, but I'm lazy. And plus, I know it doesn't go with the song "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift; I just didn't use it as a guide for the storyline.)**


	15. O: Ostrich

**(A/N: This is a lo-o-ong one. O,O And based off the AGU special episode "Dude, Where's My Horse?" Thanks for this idea, celrock! Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **O- Ostrich**

Summary: Shenzi and Chuckie, along with the rest of the gang, spend a week at a ranch during their summer vacation. But while they're out in the country, an... interesting surprise is on the way for the two best friends. 

* * *

A Volkswagen bus drove along the road, its seats occupied by a group of teenagers. There was 15-year-old Chuckie Finster, his girlfriend of 4 years 14-year-old Shenzi Tuck, Chuckie's stepsister 14-year-old Kimi Finster, 14-year-old Tommy Pickles, his brother 13-year-old Dil Pickles, their cousin 16-year-old Angelica Pickles, 16-year-old Susie Carmichael, and 15-year-old twins Phil and Lil DeVille. They were being taken to a ranch out in the country by Lou Pickles, grandfather of Tommy, Dil, and Angelica, and an old friend of his, Red, who lived on the ranch, to stay for a week.

"Angelica, do you have to keep kicking my seat?" Tommy glared at Angelica when she was kicking the headrest on his seat.

"No, I don't have to," She replied, "But seeing as how you got us into this mess, it's my pleasure."

Shenzi rolled her eyes from her seat across from Tommy, and next to Chuckie. "Oh, lighten up. It's not so bad." She felt kind of awkward, seeing as she seemed to be the only one not trying to make Tommy's head explode with her eyes. "It could be fun!"

"She's right," Tommy pointed out, "I mean, when we were kids, we must have banked a gazillion hours playing cowboys. Now, we have a shot at the real deal. Think about it; Grub cooked over an open fire, horses, wide open spaces, horses..."

Meanwhile, Chuckie was breathing heavily into his handheld steam inhaler as Shenzi watched in concern. "I still don't know, Tommy. I mean, real horses are big and unpredictable. They're not like running around on a broom handle, slapping your own butt."

"It's okay, Chuckie," Shenzi assured him.

"It'll be great!" Angelica added, then paused in realization. "I just remembered how swank I'll look in all my Western wear." She looked back at a trunk full of her clothes, so Kimi and Susie glanced at each other with annoyance.

Shenzi rolled her eyes, yet couldn't help but gaze self-consciously at her rolling suitcase. It was black with multi-colored hibiscuses on it. Would she fit in at the ranch with what she brought? She hoped so. "Don't worry, Shen," Chuckie seemed to read her mind. "You'll be like one of them." He glanced down at her outfit. "'Fact, you already are." She was currently wearing black low-riding boyfriend shorts, black cowboy boots, and a pink and black buffalo plaid flannel shirt. The bottom two buttons were undone, so a bit of smooth, purplish-grey skin on her flat stomach was revealed. She also wore black star stud earrings, and a pink clip-in extension in her longer bangs, which covered the left side of her face, including her black cat-eye prescription glasses.

"Thanks Chuck," She smiled shyly.

As Tommy waited in anticipation, he envisioned himself and everyone else riding horseback along the road, holding their cowboy hats in the air. After a short amount of time, they arrived at the bus stop at a small hut. Angelica looked unhappy yet again, as she rested her elbow on her clothes trunk. "Well, this doesn't look familiar," Lou remarked.

Out of nowhere, a strange whistle-like sound echoed throughout the landscape. Dil watched where it came from in curiosity, while Shenzi jumped when Chuckie suddenly screamed in terror. He let go of her hand, and practically dove into a nearby water trough for cover. "Chuckie, why'd you do that?" Shenzi asked him. "There's nothing out there."

"Whenever you hear that song in westerns, it means the bad guys are about to start a shoot-out!" She didn't know how to respond to that. They weren't in a town, so how could any bad guys come out of hiding for that?

They then heard the whistling sound again, but when they turned to the hut, they saw a man dressed in cowboy garbs whistling at them. He then started laughing, as three other guys joined them, one driving a pickup truck. "Another burst of folks. We do that to all the city slickers. Right, Lou?"

"Yep, and it wasn't funny then, and it ain't funny now," Lou crossed his arms in annoyance. Shenzi and Tommy started helping Chuckie out of the trough, so water dripped on the ground.

"I'm Big Red," The first cowboy introduced himself, "And this here's Medium Red," He gestured to the second cowboy, who looked a bit younger than him, "And Little Red." The third looked to be around Angelica and Susie's age. "And that guy by the truck's... Tiny." The said man waved at them.

"What truck?" Susie wondered aloud. It didn't look like any truck she ever seen.

The kids plus Lou, who had fallen asleep, rode in the truck trailer on the way to the ranch. "This is pretty nice," Shenzi remarked, as she laid on Chuckie's shoulder. "Kind of relaxing."

"Y-yeah," He agreed. "Can we help you with something?" He raised an eyebrow at Little Red, when he seemed to stare at Shenzi.

"Uh, I never met a city girl before," He replied, "How do you get your hair so shiny?"

She felt kind of shy at the question. "Um, I-I dunno. I just use shampoo and conditioner like any other person," She shrugged.

"Sorry Little Red," Chuckie held her closer, "She's my girlfriend." He felt a slightest bit of guilt when Little Red looked disappointed, but he stood his ground. Shenzi was his, and no one else's. They then turned around, along with Phil and Dil, and watched wild horses running along the landscape.

"Look quick, or you'll miss it!" Susie suddenly piped up from her seat across from them. They all looked, and saw a white and red cow eating grass.

"You pulled us away from wild mustangs to check out a _cow?_ " Dil questioned her.

"It is not about the cow," Susie told them, "It's about the cow _tipping._ "

"Yeah right," Phil scoffed, "You'd never do that. It almost sounds... bad." Shenzi couldn't help but snicker.

"What're you saying?" Susie questioned him just as they arrived at the ranch. "I can't be bad? I can be bad! I can be as bad as the rest of you! Badder, even!"

"Is badder even a word?" Shenzi smirked.

"That's right, sister!" Susie turned to where the cow was, ignoring the Goth girl. "You are going down!"

After the truck was stopped, the kids looked at their surroundings. It seemed like they traveled back in time; The building structures looked that authentic. Big Red led the kids to a big, red barn where a certain number of bed cots were spread out. "Suh-weet!" Phil remarked after a sigh of relaxation.

"Ah, livin' like real cowboys," Tommy added.

The rest followed them, but Angelica stopped upon seeing what she would be sleeping on. "This arrangement's fine for the kids, but I'm gonna need my own bathroom with a hot tub, internet access, and free movies."

Shenzi rolled her eyes at her demands. "You see a free water pump, or an electric generator?" She then caught up with Chuckie. To their surprise, there was one less bed. They concluded that the couple would sleep together in one bed, which they were perfectly fine with. It's not like it was new or anything.

"Well, it's 4 PM; You all better catch some shut eye," Big Red announced, "'Round here, we get up before the roosters."

"'Night, buckaroo," Lou said to Tommy.

"'Night, Grandpa." The doors were closed after the adults walked out.

"Which one of you do I talk to about room service?" Angelica called out to them, but didn't receive an answer.

"Think about it, you guys," Tommy looked at Shenzi and Chuckie, as the former was laying almost on top of the latter, "Tonight, we go to sleep kids. Tomorrow, we wake up cowboys."

With that, the couple happily went to sleep, with Shenzi cuddling in Chuckie's neck and chest.

* * *

The next day, Tommy, Chuckie, and Shenzi were shoveling horse feces, grimacing at the overwhelming stench. All of a sudden, Chuckie let out a sneeze. "B-bless you," Shenzi said in a funny voice, due to her hand pinching her nose.

"Thanks."

"Well, you didn't think horses cleaned up after themselves, did you?" Big Red asked the kids as he pushed a wheelbarrow containing another shovel towards them.

Phil took the shovel, and started cleaning the feces without a single sign of disgust. "I was _born_ for this job!"

"You might want to keep that to yourself," Angelica told him, as she applied makeup while wearing cowgirl clothes.

"Well I, for one, refuse to get up close and personal with horse dung!" Lil exclaimed. "It will ruin the faux fade of my jeans."

Tommy stashed a shovelful in the wheelbarrow. "The life of a cowboy isn't all fast horses and fancy hats. We have to work up to it. Earn it."

"Seems like you would need shots for this kind of work," Chuckie remarked, "Lots of them."

"Come on, Chuckie. You want the Reds to think you're soft?" Tommy asked him.

"But I _am_ soft," Chuckie replied, carefully pinching the side of his stomach under his shirt for emphasis.

"Me too," Shenzi shrugged.

"Look, the grunt work's just going to make the fun stuff seem that much better," Tommy pointed out.

Susie, Kimi, and Dil paused reluctantly, before Susie made her move. "Leave it up to Tommy to give shoveling manure a good rep," Susie remarked. They all then continued shoveling dung into the wheelbarrow.

After they were finished, Lil removed the medical gloves and mask she started using at one point.

"Well, take a look at what the kids can do," Lou remarked.

"Well, you city folks were always good at shovelin' this stuff, but I gotta say, this is a mighty excellent job," Red told them all.

"So Red," Tommy spoke up, "Where's the chuck wagon? 'Cause me and my posse are ready to celebrate!"

"You kiddin'? This is just the warm-up!"

"Warm-up?" All the kids said simultaneously. Then by accident, Susie tipped over the wheelbarrow, so the manure spilled out.

As the day went on, the teens performed various tasks. Phil tried to catch a pig, while enjoying his time in the mud. Lil was scooping some mud and manure in a bucket, while wearing a radiation suit. Shenzi and Chuckie were setting up a fence with wooden posts and barbed wire, but he got tangled up after one beam fell down. After gasping in shock, she immediately came to his aid. Angelica sneaked off a while ago, and was currently sleeping on her cot in the barn.

That evening, Susie tried to tip over a cow, but it laid down before she could. Later, the gang pulled a wall up, so three were ready for a new building on the landscape. When Big Red came to check on them, the wall fell, barely missing him as he was standing directly where the window was. The teens walked away in disappointment as the other walls fell.

That night, they gathered back in the barn. "What a week," Phil sighed.

"Phil, it's been a day," Lil pointed out, as she was wiping one of her shoes, "And you stink!"

"In honor of the great cowboy tradition, I refuse to shower." Phil smelled under his arm, and looked satisfied.

When bedtime came around, Shenzi and Chuckie laid on their bed simultaneously. She sat up a bit at a strange sound. "Uh, Chuckie? Is our bed creaking?"

That question made his eyes snap open. "Yeah, I think." When she cautiously laid back down, the creaking became louder and louder.

Then all of a sudden, the bed broke in two! Chuckie landed on his back with a grunt, and his eyes almost bugged out when Shenzi harshly plopped on him. Everyone else's heads snapped around to look at them, the commotion gaining their attention. "I'll get Big Red." Dil stood up, and walked out of the barn. He came back with the said cowboy after a minute or two.

"Somebody need a new bed?" He asked the kids, and turned to the couples. "Sorry; I thought it would support two of you young'ns. I'll see if we have any spares." He left the barn, but came back a minute later. "I hate to break it to ya, but we don't have any more of those cots. You lovebirds will have to improvise. I know a good, comfy place for you two. Follow me." The couple followed him into the horse stables, where there was a pile of hay that looked inviting. "This is the place. G'night, kids."

"Thanks," Chuckie nodded, before he and Shenzi laid in the surprisingly soft bed of hay.

"I'm glad this hay is soft, and not itchy," She remarked, "Otherwise, I'd regret choosing these pajamas for the trip." She wore a black and blue buffalo plaid ruffle-trimmed babydoll camisole and matching boxer shorts.

"I am too," He agreed with her. She carefully shifted her position, so she was laying in his comforting arms.

"So um, that drive in two days sounds pretty exciting," She remarked, "We'll learn to rope and ride!"

"Yep," He nodded, "It'll be great... I hope."

"We'll be fine," She assured him, "I'll help you anytime you need it."

"Thanks," He smiled lovingly at her. "For now, let's get some sleep. G'night, Shen," He kissed her silky, black hair.

"G'night, Chuck." She cuddled into his chest, and drifted off almost immediately.

Chuckie carefully laid his head on hers, as his hands rested on her back. She was his cowgirl, and he was her cowboy, forever. He would make sure of it.

* * *

Sometime, in the middle of the night, an egg rolled out of the hay and hatched shortly after, revealing a newborn baby ostrich. When he looked up, he saw Chuckie and Shenzi sleeping together, and immediately looked at them as his parents. He weakly climbed up the mound, and started prodding at Shenzi's back, where her camisole bared it from Chuckie's hand moving up without him knowing it. She twitched a bit as a little smile grew. "Chuckie, stop it," She whispered and giggled, "I'm trying to sleep." When the chick prodded at a sensitive spot, she twitched more harshly. "Chuckie!" She giggled louder and gently shoved him, making his eyes blink open.

"Shen," He mumbled groggily, "What's wrong?" When he put his glasses on and his vision cleared, his eyes widened when he saw the newcomer now right in front of his face. "Uh... uh, Sh-Shenzi?"

He gently nudged her, so she blinked awake. "Mmm," She moaned sleepily as she put her glasses on, "What's wrong, Chuck?" When she looked behind her back, her heart jumped at the sudden visitor; Her breath hitched as she clutched onto him instinctively, making his heart jump as well.

"It's okay, Shen," He tried to calm her down, "It looks like a chick."

She looked again, and smiled. "He's kinda cute. But he doesn't look like any chick I've ever seen. Not even on TV."

"We can ask Big Red tomorrow."

"Yeah," She nodded, "G'night, Chuckie," She kissed his cheek.

"'Night, Shen." He stroked her hair, and laid his head back on hers. "G'night... chickie." She giggled at his choice of a name. "We'll come up with a better name tomorrow, if he's still around."

"Okay," She agreed, "I'm sure he'll stick around, though. He thinks we're his mama and papa, after all. This'll be a story to tell to our friends and folks."

"Yep." With that, the couple drifted off into a peaceful sleep. The chick curled up in Shenzi's long hair like it was a nest, and fell asleep with them.

* * *

The next day, the teens gathered at the stables to get started on their drive. From weird coincidence, the horses resembled them in terms of hair and eyes. Shenzi's even had her left eye covered by her mane, and she seemed fond of Chuckie's. "Now you're gonna see the Pickles' family night with horses kick in," Lou told the teens.

Dil looked around for his, but didn't see any horses that weren't occupied. "Dude, where's my horse?" Little Red led one to him, and to his surprise, he was wearing a Sherpa hat exactly like his, right down to the joke teeth.

"Ah, this has to be the single coolest moment of my life!" Tommy remarked with excitement.

"Funny, I was thinking it's maybe my last," Chuckie said. He laughed when his horse nosed at his head.

"You'll be alright," Shenzi assured him, "He seems to like you." She giggled when her horse nosed at her cheek.

"I'm sure Nelly will go easy on you," Tommy added.

Little Red proceeded to teach the teens how to put the saddles on their respective horses. To their surprise, Tommy wasn't doing so well. He then showed them how to mount their horses, so they copied his movements.

Chuckie sighed in relief to his girlfriend when he safely mounted. "Check me out! Nothing's broken!" He chuckled. "Yet," He added.

As Tommy tried to mount, Shenzi guided her horse to follow her boyfriend's. "This is nice, isn't it?" She asked him.

"Yeah," He nodded.

"I'm a little nervous, though."

"You'll be fine," He assured her. They looked down when they heard little squawking, and saw the chick following them.

"Aww," Shenzi giggled, "I knew he'd stay."

"Yep," Chuckie nodded, "We still need a name, though. And, oh! We forgot to ask Big Red about what kind of bird he is!"

She gasped a bit, not wanting to scare her horse. "You're right! We should do that later."

Later that night, the teens gathered in the pub to eat a meal made by Kimi. It was disgusting, but they didn't have the heart to tell her so, At least, no one except Phil.

"I can't believe how much fun I had today!" Chuckie remarked as Shenzi stealthily set her plate on the floor, so the chick could eat off it. "It's like, I can _think_ like a horse!"

"And that's a _good_ thing?" Susie asked him.

"Why not?" Shenzi shrugged, "Today was a lot of fun, especially when you just get in the zone."

"Yeah!" Lil agreed. "The zone! Like you and the horse are one!"

"Oh yeah!" Tommy agreed half heartedly after looking mopey. "Ah, the zone. Hey, great!" He then walked out of the pub, still looking sad.

After he left, Phil and Dil went into a western-style stare-off over a game of cards. Shenzi held the chick to her chest protectively as Tiny ducked down behind the counter. But when they grabbed their eggrolls, Lil put a stop to the fight. After they calmly continued their game, Susie went out to try cow tipping yet again. Her results were failure yet again.

Later, Shenzi and Chuckie were hanging out on the porch, just the two of them, as they held hands. "Shen, these last two days have been wonderful for me."

"Me too," She agreed, gazing into his eyes as they sparkled from the lights inside, "I-I never thought being a cowboy, um I mean cow _girl,_ would be this much fun."

"I feel the same way," He gazed back into her sparkling eyes, or eye, as the slight breeze made her hair flutter and frame her lovely face. He couldn't believe a girl this beautiful had been his girlfriend for 4 years now. Soon, it would be 5, then 10, then they would be celebrating their wedding anniversary. He just knew it.

His heart pounded hard when her head started leaning upward towards his, her eyes slowly closing and her tiny, inviting lips puckered. Feeling nervous, no _terrified,_ he started leaning down with his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. Her hands were on his upper arms, while his were on her shoulders, as they were just inches apart.

They jumped back in surprise when a depressed Tommy walked out on the porch. They asked him what was bothering him, and he admitted that the horse stuff wasn't as easy as he expected. And after they talked, she and Tommy were both surprised to learn that Chuckie could play the harmonica. "Ooh," She breathed out in awe, "When did you learn to play the harmonica?"

He looked genuinely surprised himself. "I play the harmonica?"

When bedtime came, Shenzi and Chuckie were granted permission by Big Red to lug the mound of hay in the barn, so they could be with their friends. A while after they fell asleep in each other's arms, an idea came in Shenzi's head, making her eyes snap open. "Chuckie," She whispered, as she gently nudged his shoulder.

"Mm?" He moaned sleepily, and put his glasses on. "What's the matter, Shen?"

"I just got an idea for a name for our little chick."

* * *

"Remember, lassoing is all in the wrist," Little Red lectured the teens the next morning, as they were back on their respective horses, "Keep it smooth and steady." He demonstrated with a wooden cow test dummy. As the teens tried for themselves, Tommys lasso accidentally wrapped around his neck.

When the chick walked in the lassos' paths, Shenzi spoke up. "Wait!" She carefully jumped down, and picked him up. "I told you, Pillow, you can't just wander in the ring like that!"

"P-Pillow?" Dil couldn't help but snicker.

"He's soft and feathery like one," She shrugged with a cute giggle, "It just came to me."

When Dil looked to Chuckie, he shrugged as well. "Who'd have thought my first kid would be named Pillow?" He chuckled. "I can't say no to her. And besides... it's a cute name."

Shenzi set the chick, Pillow, away from danger before she mounted her horse again. "Okay, he's safe. I'm ready to go."

As the day went on, Tommy tried continuously to lasso correctly, but always fell short and lassoed Lil instead, every time, no matter where she was. The gang was doing chores again, but this time, Tommy was helping Chuckie and Shenzi with the fence, although he still wasn't doing good. The post he put in sunk in the dirt, while Chuckie managed to shape the barbed wire into an elephant as Shenzi watched. Susie failed yet again at cow tipping, while Dil searched for a TV on the property. When Tommy tried lassoing one last time, Lil fell victim yet again. The teens then set up a set of walls, and they stayed up this time instead of falling, so they went to do something else.

That evening, they gathered in the pub and ate a meal made by Kimi again. Except, this one was different. "Maybe the sun burned up my taste buds, but Kimi... this grub tastes awesome!" Phil remarked.

"I know. Took me all week, but I finally learned how to do it upright."

"Chuckie, Shenzi, I'm sorry I was kind of a jerk the other night," Tommy apologized to the couple, as Shenzi tended to Pillow.

"Nah, you weren't a jerk," Chuckie assured him, "Just testy."

"But you seem like you're in a good mood now," Shenzi pointed out, "Did you finally lasso the wooden cow?"

"Nope," Tommy replied, "But I finally accepted the fact that I'm the lamest cowboy on the planet. And I'm completely comfortable with it."

"I've always said the key to happiness is... lowered expectations," Chuckie said.

When Susie suddenly burst in, the self-playing piano stopped, and the gang turned to her. But when she walked inside, the piano started playing again and they went back to their business.

After they were done, they went back to pulling the last wall structure up. "I can't believe we're going on a real cattle drive tomorrow!" Phil exclaimed. "I'm stoked!"

"I sure hope we're ready for it," Kimi remarked nervously, "I hate to mess this up." She let go of her rope when the wall was secure.

"Me too," Lil agreed, "I'm down to my last clean pair of jeans."

"Yeah, you guys are going to be great," Tommy supported them.

"What do you mean "you guys"?" Chuckie asked him.

"I've decided to bail on the cattle drive," Tommy explained, "But good luck, and have a great time." He opened the door on one wall, and left the structure. But as he walked away, the walls fell around them.

While everyone, well almost everyone, was peacefully asleep, Shenzi and Chuckie remained awake. "Um, it-it's too bad Tommy's not going with us tomorrow," Shenzi whispered so only she and her boyfriend could hear.

"Yeah," He agreed, keeping his voice down as well, "It won't be the same without him. He's never bailed on anything this exciting before. I hope he'll change his mind."

"Me too. It's just too exciting for him to miss out on." She let out a small yawn. "Let's get some sleep."

"'Kay," He nodded, "'Night, Shen. 'Night, Pillow."

She couldn't help but giggle quietly. "'Night, Chuck. 'Night, Pillow." The couple then drifted off to sleep, with the chick curled up in between them.

* * *

The next morning, the gang sans Tommy got dressed in cowboy/girl attire, and strolled out of the barn in order; Phil, Lil, Kimi, Chuckie, Shenzi (who had Pillow on top of her hat, Dil, Susie, and Angelica. They mounted their respective horses, while Shenzi put the chick in a little cup holder she had on the saddle. "This could be the textbook perfect day," Chuckie remarked, "Except..."

"Tommy's not here," Shenzi finished solemnly. When their horses headed for the ranch exit, they stopped when Tommy suddenly rode up on his. "It's about time you guys showed up," He smiled at them all.

"Now it's perfect," Chuckie said, and Shenzi nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what big ol' powerful beast we'll be ranglin'," Phil thought out loud.

"Longhorns?" Susie guessed.

"Holsteins?" Tommy added.

"Heifers?" Chuckie shrugged.

"Anguses?" Shenzi guessed.

"Come on, little doggies! Come on!" Red opened the shed door, and to the gang's confusion, a gaggle of ostriches came out!

"Ostriches?" Dil finally spoke. "We're driving _ostriches?_ "

"What a rip-off!" Phil exclaimed. "I thought this was a _cattle_ drive!"

"Well, I said _drive,_ " Big Red reminded him, " _You_ filled in the blanks."

As the ostriches squawked to each other, Pillow joined in, surprising Shenzi. "You're an ostrich?" She asked him in surprise. "Wow! Chuckie, Pillow's a baby ostrich!"

"Whoa, really? That's interesting!"

"Hey!" Kimi exclaimed when one of the large birds stole her hat. "Is he supposed to do that?" She took her hat back.

"Man, they smell worse than you, Phil!" Lil complained with her hand covering her nose.

"Aah!" Phil yelled when one ostrich started prodding at his face. "Hey! She was insulting me, not you!"

"So, where are we taking these eh, little doggies?" Susie asked Red.

"To my sister's house," He replied and pointed in the direction, "She has a pettin' zoo. And your buddy, Ella the cow is goin' too."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call us buddies. It's strictly a tipper tippee relationship."

"Okay, let's move 'em out!" Little Red exclaimed cheerfully, before the mission officially began.

As they rode along, Chuckie glanced at his beautiful girlfriend. "You really look like you're one of the ranchers, Shen."

"Thanks," She blushed shyly. She was wearing dark denim low-riding bootcut jeans, the same black cowboy boots from when they first arrived, the same pink extension and black star earrings, a pink, black, and white plaid flannel shirt tied into a knot at the front, revealing some of her stomach again, a black denim jacket with white stitching and buttons, and a black cowboy hat with spikes along the band, a small winged skull on the front and studs along the top.

" _ **Ho-o-ome, home on the range,**_ " Phil started singing, while making fart noises with his hands for music, " ** _Where the deer and the antelope play._** " Shenzi stifled giggles at him, then at Chuckie when she saw he was asleep. " ** _Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day._** " Lil tried to ride ahead of him from embarrassment, but he just caught up with her. "Not bad, huh?" He gave her a big, goofy grin, baring his teeth.

"I don't know you."

The gang rode in a ditch, along a slightly risky pathway, with the ostriches following. "Aren't you glad you decided to come?" Kimi asked Tommy.

"Oh yeah," He replied to her, "Wouldn't want to miss this."

Shenzi gasped when Tommy's horse accidentally bumped into hers. "Tommy, can you please be careful?" She nervously requested. She then panicked when the chick started falling. "Pillow, no!" She lunged down to grab him, but was on the verge of falling to her death!

"Shenzi!" Chuckie yelled in horror after snapping awake, but was paralyzed with fear, not knowing how to help her.

"Shenzi! Watch out!" Tommy tried to lasso her to get her to safety, but he ended up catching Lil, and throwing her into some cacti.

Out of fear, the ostriches started fussing; Big Red fell off his horse, and was almost encountered by three of the large birds. When a select few tried to run off, Little Red blocked their path. Kimi helped Lil out of the cacti as the others tried to calm the birds down. "I think Big Red's hurt!" Susie pointed out in concern.

"Did somebody see a... bird go by here?" Big Red asked them deliriously, before Little Red pulled him up on his horse.

"Okay, listen guys," He turned to the city-born teens, "I hate to leave you, but I gotta get my daddy back to the ranch! You're just gonna have to go alone! You can do it!" He then rode off, with Big Red's horse following. The gang stayed in place, not knowing what to do.

"Okay, nobody panic," Susie told them all.

"Who says we're panicking? Nobody's panicking! You see anyone panicking?!" Chuckie rambled fearfully.

"Y-you are," Shenzi stammered.

"Well, I'm supposed to panic!"

"What're we going to do?" Lil wondered aloud nervously. "Without a trail bus, there'll be anarchy!"

"Chillax, Lil," Susie comforted her, "We're not going to start an uprising."

"Not us," Lil shook her head, "Them!" She pointed to the ostriches, who started fussing even more.

"Somebody has to take charge," Kimi decided.

"I'll do it!" Dil announced, but was unnoticed. "Is this one of those times where I say something, and you guys ignore me?"

"Yeah," Susie answered his question.

"Thank you."

As Tommy drank from his canteen, everyone turned to look at him. He noticed after a second. "You're kidding, right?"

"I know I hit the scene a little later than everybody else, but as long as I can remember, T, you've always been the leader!" Dil supported him.

"Well, this time, I'm the least qualified person for the job. I'm the one who got you guys into this mess. I'm the one who wanted to be a big time cowboy, and look where I got you. I'm the worst rangler, the worst horseman; Even my chaps are on backwards, and boy, do they pinch, Ow!"

"You stink; So what?" Chuckie piped up. "Big deal. I stink at a lot of things, like dodgeball and long division."

" _And_ you can never open your locker on the first try," Phil added.

"There, see?"

" _And_ you're lousy at Crazy 8s," Kimi chimed in proudly, "I always beat you."

" _Right._ " He was getting annoyed.

"And your fashion sense is pretty pathetic, Finster," Angelica added. Shenzi rolled her eyes at that, and shot a glare at her for insulting her boyfriend.

"Thanks! I think I can handle this from here!" Chuckie said from irritance, before continuing his support. "Look Tommy, there's a lot of things I stink at. But what I'm _really_ bad at is following you into adventures. But that never stopped me; Because we're friends. And I knew you'd always be there for me, like how I'm always there for Shenzi." He glanced at his girlfriend, who shot him a loving smile. "Now, we need _you_ to be there for _us._ "

Tommy looked at all his friends, who had slight pleading expressions. He then made his move. "Chuckie, Phil, Susie! Gather up the strays! Lil, Dil, and Kimi, keep an eye on the rest! Angelica, Shenzi, head up the back!" He smiled with determination as he went to work. After a while of leading the ostriches, Tommy started feeling tired. "Let's take a break here."

As they rested, Shenzi gasped when she noticed that her saddle pouch was empty. When she looked down, she saw a truck and two ATVs driving the ostriches away, including Pillow. "What's going on down there?" Lil wondered aloud, before she saw text on the trailer. "Boots, belts, burgers?!"

"They're ostrich rustlers!" Kimi exclaimed.

Just then, one of the men grabbed the chick right off the ground, but he bit his nose. "And they've got Pillow!" Shenzi exclaimed in horror, before turning to Tommy and grabbing his shirt collar desperately. "You've gotta do something! If anything happens to that little guy, I don't know if I can go on!"

"Same here!" Chuckie added. "He's already like a son to me!"

Tommy looked down at the scene, where the rustlers had the ostriches surrounded, before using whips to force them in the trailer. Tommy then drew out a plan in the dirt with a stick. "Dil, I want you to go down there, and do whatever you have to do to create a diversion." Dil saluted. "Phil and Lil, flatten the truck tires."

"With _what?!_ " Phil asked him.

"Figure it out!" The twins then looked at the sharp spurs on their boots, and got an idea. "Susie, Kimi, hide in the bushes, and when you get the opportunity, lasso the ATVs." After agreeing on the plan, the two girls ran to initiate it. "Angelica, you think you can tie the ropes together long enough to hold them for a while?"

"Please! Have you seen what I can do with a simple, silk scarf?" She pulled off her teal scarf for emphasis, and whipped it into a knot.

"Okay, so after I get the tailgate down," Tommy turned to the couple, "Shenzi, you call Pillow, and the others will follow him out. Chuckie, round 'em up."

"Done," He tilted his hat a bit, and followed his girlfriend to their spot.

The trailer door was soon closed after Pillow was stashed in by one of the rustlers. As Dil created a diversion using a Spanish soap opera for inspiration, Phil and Lil sneaked their spurs under the back tires, and for the plan to go right, Phil made sure he was seen in the driver's side mirror. The truck driver saw them and tried to move the truck, but sure enough, the tires popped and were flattened. After Susie and Kimi lassoed the ATVs, Angelica tied the ropes together into a neat bow, so that when they tried to drive away, they ended up snapping back. Tommy managed to lasso the trailer door handle instead of Lil, who was close by and gave him a thumbs-up, so he pulled as hard as he could.

After the trailer door handle was opened, Shenzi jumped off her horse. "Pillow! Mama's here!" He chirped and ran into her hands, as the adult ostriches ran out of the trailer.

"Yee-haw!" Chuckie exclaimed as he rounded them. "Get along, little doggies!" Shenzi rode up next to him, with Pillow safe and sound in his pouch. "I always wanted to say that," He said to her. "Is Pillow alright?"

"Uh huh," She nodded, "He's perfect." The couple made the ostriches turn to avoid a barbed wire fence, as the rest of the gang rode away from the rustlers. One riding an ATV tried to avoid a sudden strand of wire on the ground, but he ended up flying out of the vehicle. Chuckie twirled a pair of cutting pliers, and puffed on them like they were a handgun with pride, then put them back between his jeans and belt. After sharing a high-five with Shenzi, they continued rounding the ostriches with their friends.

As they rode along the path, Susie finally managed to fulfill her desire; Tip a cow, although she was concerned. Ella blocked the last rustler's path so he crashed. "About calling you "that ol' milk bag" earlier, I take it back," Susie told Ella, and walked back to her horse as the cow followed her. "Woohoo! We just survived our first ambush!"

"And they're not even dusty!" Lil pointed out, about her jeans.

"For the first time in my life, my teacher won't fall asleep reading my "What I did on my Summer Vacation" essay!" Chuckie cheered.

"Wait 'til I tell my family about all this!" Shenzi marveled. "Frankie will be so jealous!"

"And it's all because of you, Tommy," Phil told the purple-haired boy. "Well, I had some friends to help me out. Now let's get these birds home! I think we've had enough adventure for one day."

"I agree," Shenzi piped up, "I'm getting pooped." The teens looked up when it started getting dark, and saw grey clouds coming, before it started raining. "Uh oh." The ostriches started feeling nervous. "I hope there's no... Aah!" She was cut off by a flash of lightning associated with thunder. Her horse was close to Chuckie's, so she clung onto him in fear. She had a phobia of lightning and thunder, ever since she was a toddler. He carefully held her closer in comfort, before he and the others saw that the path was getting flooded at a very rapid pace.

They gathered the ostriches on safe ground as they helplessly watched the rain water wash up. "What're we gonna do?!" Lil wondered aloud fearfully. "The ostriches won't cross the river!"

"Well, we can't go back the other way!" Susie pointed out. "The rustlers will get us!"

"There's a way out of this, I just know it!" Tommy exclaimed. "Just, just give me a minute to think."

"No pressure, Tommy. But it'd be better if you can figure it out in the next, oh I dunno, uh, 5, 6 seconds," Chuckie said nervously as the water raised up to the horses' knees.

"All we need is for one, just _one_ to cross, and the rest will follow!" Tommy explained.

"How're you gonna do that, bro?" Dil asked him.

With confidence, Tommy rode up to one of the ostriches, and to everyone's shock, he started trying to mount it! " _What,_ are you doing?!" Angelica exclaimed at him. "You can barely _control_ a horse!"

"You're going to ride him?!" Susie asked him with shock. "Are you wack?!"

"No, I saw it on TV." Tommy managed to mount the large bird, and struggled to control it.

"I can't watch," Chuckie shielded his eyes with his hat.

"Me neither," Shenzi leaned in closer and shifted her head under his hat, so they were inches apart. As the nail-biting suspense was going on, the rain not helping with it, they found comfort in each others' presences.

When they looked again, they saw that Tommy was still fine, and managed to lead the ostriches across the river. The gang cheered as the large birds were led to safety. "And our moms say we wasted our time watching television!" Phil exclaimed.

The group plus Tommy's horse followed the ostriches as the sky cleared up. But when Shenzi looked down, the saddle pouch was empty! "Pillow?! Chuckie! Pillow's not in here!" His head whipped around to look at his terrified girlfriend. She turned, and saw the chick stuck in the mud. "Pillow!" When Lil saw him, she jumped down, dove into the mud, and pulled him out to safety. "Ohhh! You poor baby! Mommy's here!" Shenzi hugged the chick. "Thanks, Lil!" She started walking back to her horse, and concerned boyfriend. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" She mounted her horse after setting Pillow in the pouch. "He's okay, Chuckie!"

"Thank goodness," He sighed in relief, and patted the chick's head. "Don't scare your mama like that again, mister."

"Okay Lil, let's go," Phil ordered when his twin sister stayed put.

"You guys go on ahead." She seemed to be in heaven. "I'll catch up in a few." She flopped on her back, so she was caked in mud, and made angels while giggling happily.

"Yeah, I knew she'd crack sooner or later," Phil remarked to Tommy, "Mud is in our blood."

"That's enough, Lil," Tommy said to the dirty, brunette girl, "Get out of the mud."

"5 more minutes," She refused dreamily as she was on her back once again after laying face-down. Now annoyed, the two boys dismounted, and started dragging her away by her arms. "Let go! I wanna play in the mud! Phil gets to play in the mud! Why can't I play in the mud?! You guys are so mean!" Shenzi couldn't help but stifle giggles at the amusing scene.

With that, the gang continued leading the ostriches along the landscape. Before long, they stopped on a grassy hill when a ranch was close in their view, along with a certain truck. "That's Tiny's truck!" Susie exclaimed with joy.

"We made it!" Kimi added.

The gang cheered as they threw their hats in the air in victory. When they arrived at the gate, Chuckie stopped next to the purple-haired boy. "You did it, Tommy. Congratulations."

"Yeah, you were great," Shenzi added.

"You guys did it," Tommy pointed out, "I just told you what to do. I'm still a pretty lousy cowboy," He frowned sadly.

"Yeah, but you're a great leader," Chuckie pointed out, "And I knew you'd pull it off."

"No, you didn't," Tommy played with him.

"No, I didn't," Chuckie played along. The trio laughed together.

"How about we show 'em a big finish now, partners?" He asked the couple. With that, the three engaged in a tame race to the ranch through the gate. But Tommy fell off, although he wasn't hurt, and his horse ran without him. After finding his hat, he ran the rest of the way on foot. The ostriches ran into a pen, where the petting zoo was, as the teens dismounted.

After a while, they rode back to Red's ranch, where they had dinner around a campfire. "And then, we used our spurs to blow out their..." Phil was telling the Reds everything that happened, along with the others.

"Tires!" Chuckie cut him off with excitement. "So, when they tried to drive off..."

"They couldn't!" Phil finished. "It was a textbook plan."

"And it was all Tommy's idea," Shenzi added.

"Oh yeah!" Phil agreed. "We never would've made it back without Tommy."

After a while, a solemn expression grew on Shenzi's face. "Um, Ch-Chuckie?"

He looked down at her. "What's wrong, Shen?"

She sighed in hesitation. "It's time."

He was confused, but then realized what she meant. "Y-yeah, you're right." He looked back and forth at the others. "Um, we-we'll be right back." They stood up and walked to the pub, where Little Red was sitting. "Um, Li-Little Red?" He turned to them.

"Um, ca-can you keep Pillow for us?" Shenzi hesitantly gave him the chick. "Our parents would flip if we took him home, so he has to stay here."

"Y-yeah," Chuckie nodded.

"Don't you two worry, he's in good hands," Little Red assured them, "I'll take good care of him."

"Th-thanks," Shenzi smiled sadly, and inhaled pitifully, "Um, g-goodbye Pillow." She patted his head. "I hope we meet again someday."

Chuckie came up, and patted his head. "B-bye, Pillow. Y-you be on your best behavior, okay?"

As he gently guided her away, tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. When she was sniffling a bit, his heart broke. He rubbed his shoulders in attempts of comfort as they walked back to the fire. "Um, I-I'm going to turn in early." Shifting out of Chuckie's hold, she headed to the barn.

"I uh," He rubbed the back of his neck, "I am too. G'night, guys." After they wished him a good night as well, he walked in the barn and saw his girlfriend laying on the hay bundle, still looking depressed, with her hat closely next to her. "Aww, Shen." He laid next to her, and she buried her face in his chest, yet stayed quiet. "It's okay." He held her closer as she laid still. "This happens in every family; The parents let their kids live wherever they want to, no matter how much it hurts the parents." He rubbed her back over her clothes. "Um, wh-why don't we get some sleep? We're heading for home tomorrow."

"Okay," She mumbled in his chest, then looked up at him. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were filled with lingering tears.

"Uh, b-but before we do, I want to tell you something."

"What?"

"My secret about playing the harmonica."

That surprised her. "Whoa, really?"

"Yep," He nodded, then whispered it in her ear.

"Ooh," She looked intrigued, "Interesting. Are you ever going to tell Tommy? He seemed really curious."

"Maybe," He shrugged, "When messing with him stops being fun."

A smirk grew on her face. "So, never?"

"Yep."

She couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, you."

"Oh, me," He chuckled, "Let's get some sleep; We leave for home tomorrow."

"'Kay." She snuggled in his chest and shoulder. "G'night, Chuck."

"G'night, Shen." He kissed her forehead, and held her closer, "We'll be fine. I..." Yep, after 4 hours, they still hadn't said the L word to each other... until now. "I love you."

She then seemed to hear him. "I love you too," She mumbled sleepily.

* * *

Years passed this since this trip, and before long, Shenzi and Chuckie were married and now expecting for around 5 weeks. When her morning sickness phase was over, they decided to take a weekend trip to a special place: The Reds' Ranch. Shenzi gently rubbed her flat stomach as Chuckie drove their red Mini Cooper to their destination. "It'll be great to see the Reds again, wouldn't it?" He asked his lovely wife.

"Yep," She nodded, "It seems like it was only yesterday when we were there, working at the ranch, finding little Pillow, and driving those ostriches."

"Oh yeah," He agreed, "Oh, and by the way, we can't name our kid Pillow."

"I figured," She giggled, "I was thinking of something more sensible. Maybe Marvin if it's a boy, after your grandfather, and Maya or Melinda if it's a girl, after our birth mothers."

"Those are great names," He smiled at her, "But who says we have to pick between Maya or Melinda? Why not use one for a middle name?"

"Good idea," She smiled back, before she gasped a bit. "Ooh, we're here!" When he parked the car, and unlocked the doors, she hastily jumped out, alarming him.

"Shen, be careful!" He ran up to her. "You're pregnant now; You can't just jump around."

"S-sorry," She stammered.

"It's okay," He pecked her lips, "Just be more careful, okay?"

"I will," She nodded.

"I thought I recognized you!" They turned, and saw Little Red standing close by, now a full-grown adult.

"Little Red? Is that you?" Chuckie confirmed.

"In the flesh."

"Wow!" Shenzi exclaimed. "You're not so little now, are you?"

"Nope," He shook his head, "So, what brings you guys back?"

"We're hoping to stay for the weekend," Chuckie explained, "Is that fine?"

"Absolutely," Little Red nodded, "In fact, you came at a good time. I have a certain someone here who missed you." Before they asked who it was, he escorted a fully-grown ostrich out of hiding. "Remember him?"

The couple's eyes widened. "Pillow?!" Shenzi exclaimed. "I can't believe it!" She carefully ran up to the large bird. "Pillow, remember me? I'm your mama! Your papa's here too!" Chuckie walked up to them as she carefully hugged the ostrich around his mid section. Then, proving that he remembered her, Pillow nuzzled his head on hers. "And guess what? You're going to have a little sibling soon!"

"Whoa! You're expectin' a baby? That's great!" Little Red congratulated them. "You know the gender yet?"

"Not yet," Chuckie shook his head, "She's only around a month along, so it's too early to tell. I'll be happy with either a handsome boy, or a beautiful girl."

"Me too," Shenzi agreed.

As the married couple spent their weekend at the ranch, Chuckie performed a few chores, but stayed at his wife's side as much as he possibly could. Pillow stuck around, following either one of them to wherever they go. It was one of the greatest weekends of their lives.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, there's O. You know the disclaimer.)**


	16. P: Perfect

**(A/N: In case you didn't think of this from the oneshot title, this one will be kind of cheesy. Enjoy! I hope.)**

* * *

 **P- Perfect**

Summary: The gang, now in high school on the verge of graduating, take a weekend trip to Huntington Beach. While they're there, Chuckie is hoping to win the heart of his 4-year-long crush, new girl Shenzi Tuck. Will he succeed? Or will pretty boys at the beach sweep her off her feet first? 

* * *

"I'm so excited!" Lil DeVille exclaimed. "I love the beach!"

"Me too!" Kimi agreed.

"Me 3," Frankie Tuck agreed.

These 3 girls and their friends were heading to Huntington Beach to celebrate their upcoming graduation. Along with them was Tommy Pickles, who was driving them in a Volkswagen Bus, his younger brother Dil Pickles, Lil's twin brother Phil DeVille, Kimi's older stepbrother Chuckie Finster, and Frankie's younger stepsister, who was also Chuckie's crush, Shenzi Tuck.

The two stepsisters started attending Jim Jr. High School at around the beginning of the Finsters' first year, and the younger girl claimed Chuckie's heart ever since then, with her flowing black hair, her flawless, purplish-grey complexion, large sparkling eyes, and wonderful personality. It seemed like she was always optimistic and upbeat, despite the intimidating vibe her Gothic style gave her.

All the teens were dressed appropriately for the beach, with the boys in swim trunks, sandals, and t-shirts. The girls' outfits were more distinctive; Lil had white button shorts, a pink tank top, black jelly sandals, yellow "OMG" speech bubble earrings, and a yellow hair extension at the right side of her face. Frankie was in an Alice in Wonderland falling scene dress, black themed slip-on shoes, black bow earrings with blue circular charms, a simple ponytail band, and an Alice themed hair bow. Kimi wore a white Wild Child t-shirt with pastel rainbow letters in a graffiti style, bright rainbow tie dye board shorts, black flip-flops with rainbow straps, rainbow stud earrings, two ponytail bands, one in blue and one in red, holding her hair in two partial ponytails, and rainbow spike barbells in the extra piercings in her right ear. Shenzi was wearing black low-riding boyfriend shorts, a white cropped skull t-shirt, showing off her flat stomach for all to see, sneakers with black laces and a Sally Ragdoll dress print, a matching cosplay hair bow, themed heart earrings, a matching bracelet with a pink cord, a black stitches choker, a red hair extension in her long bangs, draping over the left side of her face, including her black cat-eye prescription glasses, and black and red ombre extensions around her head, peeking out from her natural hair.

Chuckie wasn't sure if Shenzi knew just what she was doing to him, but he just couldn't avert his eyes from her long legs, and slender stomach. If she caught him staring, she wouldn't mind it; She would even be flattered. She was truly amazing.

"We're here!" Tommy announced, startling Chuckie out of his thoughts.

"Yay!" Shenzi cheered like a little kid whose parents took her to Disneyland.

The teens filed out, Kimi carrying the large beach bag, and started searching for a good spot to set up. "There's a good place over there," Frankie pointed out, "It's not too far away from the ocean, yet it's as close to the shops as we can get." The boys mentally questioned why the last part was important, but kept quiet and agreed on the spot along with the girls, who seemed eager to get some shopping done. After arriving at the spot picked out, the gang laid out their towels; Chuckie was very surprised when Shenzi laid hers next to his, and sat at the edge closest to him. "Hi," She smiled at him, unknowingly melting his heart.

"H-hi," He stammered timidly.

"Have you ever been to Huntington Beach before? Y'know, other than now?"

"Um," He thought about it for a second, "I, I don't think so. Not that I can remember."

"Oh okay," She nodded, "This is my first time here too."

"Th-that's cool," He nodded.

"You okay?" She asked him. "You seem nervous."

"Yeah, I-I'm fine," He assured her, although he didn't sound like he was fine.

"Maybe the water will help you!" She stood up, whipped off her shirt, and stepped out of her shorts and shoes, revealing her Sally Ragdoll bikini with flounce top and hipster bottoms. As he blushed, she grabbed his hand, stood him up on his feet, and practically dragged him to the ocean with excitement.

The rest of the girls then decided to follow her lead; They took off their day clothes, fully revealing their swimsuits. Frankie's bikini had an Alice theme with skirted bottoms and ruffle-strapped top. Lil had a black one-piece swimsuit with white lace trimmed, and multicolored flowers. Kimi had a cropped tankini with a top similar to Shenzi's and hipster bottoms, both with rainbow stripes. When the boys were ready, they all followed the two friends to the water, where they were already playing. Shenzi playfully tackled Chuckie on the sand just when a wave washed up, so he was soaked. In a moment of mischief, he laid still, trying his best to keep a straight face. When the perfect moment came, he suddenly shot up and tackled Shenzi in the cold, salty water. There were a few instances where their lips were only inches apart, but they just broke away from the awkwardness and continued playing.

After a while, the girls headed off to go shopping, "accidentally" leaving their day clothes with the boys, who decided to stay behind. Chuckie wanted to get something off his chest, but was afraid of getting teased. Of course Tommy wouldn't, but Phil? It was pretty much a guarantee that he would give him a hard time. "Um, T-Tommy?" He finally stammered.

"What's up?" He asked him.

"D-do you think I'm... perfect?"

Tommy hesitated a bit from that question. It wasn't like Chuckie to ask something like that. But then again, he did have a certain lack of self confidence, so in a way, it made sense. "Well, n-nobody's perfect, Chuck."

"I mean perfect for... a partner."

"You finally comin' out of the closet?" Phil teased him. See?

"Phil!" Chuckie glared at him. "I'm not gay! I'm talking about a girl!"

"Phil, stop teasing him," Tommy told the brunette boy, before turning back to the redhead, "What girl are you talking about? Is she someone we know?"

"If it's Lil, I'm going to kick your butt into next week." Chuckie's glare made Phil shut up.

"It's... Shenzi," He confessed.

"You like Shenzi?" Tommy confirmed.

"Uh, uh-huh," Chuckie nodded, "I have ever since she and Frankie started attending our high school."

"So, you've had a thing for her since 4 years ago," Dil recapped, "And yet, you haven't told her?"

"Nope," Chuckie shook his head.

"Why not?" Dil asked him.

"Well, I... I'm afraid that she won't like me back, and it would ruin our friendship."

"Ohh," Tommy nodded as he understood.

"Plus Frankie is a tough girl; She might tie me into a knot for eyeballing her baby sister in that way."

The Pickles brothers couldn't help but laugh with him, although Chuckie's efforts were half hearted. "Well, it can't be that hard," Dil said, "I know nothing about that mushy romance junk, but I've seen her making googoo eyes at you when you're not looking at her."

"Me too," Tommy added.

"Really?" Chuckie's eyes widened in surprise. "This isn't a joke?"

"It's no joke," Tommy confirmed with a head shake.

"Well um, wh-what should I do?"

"How about you tell her that you like her, with a present for her?" Dil suggested. "That ought to ease her into it."

"That's a good idea," Chuckie nodded as he stood on the sand and pulled his shirt on, "Thanks, Dil. I'll see what the souvenir shops have."

"What if there's nothing?" Phil wondered aloud.

"Come on Phil," Tommy raised an eyebrow at him, "There's gotta be _something_ there. The girl's a maniac for a beach theme."

"I'll be right back, guys." After grabbing his wallet and stashing it in his trunks pocket, Chuckie headed for the shops, praying that Shenzi or any of the girls wouldn't see him. He entered one shop that specialized in souvenirs exclusively for the beach, and looked at the selection. There was shirts, swimsuits, bags, jewelry, the mix. What could he get for her? It had to be perfect, just like she was. He looked the hardest at any items with dark colors, considering the way she dressed, and debated hard. This was harder than he thought; Why was this girl so hard to shop for? She loves everything!

When he passed by a certain section, he stopped dead in his tracks and had a closer look. It was a purple beach themed locket necklace with an adequately-sized frame for a picture. It wasn't black, but it was perfect nonetheless. After carefully taking one off the rack, he paid for it and walked out of the store. When he got a glimpse of Frankie, he quickly ran in the opposite direction, praying that she didn't see him. He panted heavily as he practically fell on his towel in exhaustion.

"You find something?" Tommy asked him.

Unable to respond from his panting and heaving of exhaustion, Chuckie merely held up the necklace for them to see. "That's great!" Dil praised him. "That just screams "Shenzi"! She'll be all over you!"

"I... I... h-hope so," He panted, "Oh man." He flopped on his back, and took a few puffs after Tommy gave him his asthma inhaler. "That was a long run."

"Why were you running in the first place?" Phil asked him.

"I... I saw Fra-Frankie, and I p-panicked." He stared at the fabric of the awning they rented as he tried to catch his breath.

"Ohh," Tommy nodded in understanding. The boys turned upon hearing laughter, and saw obnoxious-looking "pretty" boys from their school a distance away. "Oh great."

Chuckie couldn't help but stare in jealousy. He never considered himself attractive, and seeing guys like those only made it worse. He was a geek, while they seemed to be members of the school's football team. Or wrestling. Either way, they looked like they could kill him just by looking at him. Little did he realize, as he had these jealous feelings, he forgot about the necklace.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the girls' voices. "Hey, boys!" Frankie greeted them. "Anything new?"

"Nah," Tomy shook his head, "Not much. Just those idiot jocks from our school came while you were gone."

"Oh boy," Kimi groaned, "Not them."

"Forget about them," Shenzi brushed the problem off, "After we're all rested, let's play some volleyball! Lil said she and Phil brought a ball!"

"Sounds great," Tommy agreed.

After a few minutes, the girls were all rested up, as was Chuckie, so they walked out on the sand to begin. When they were discussing teams, Shenzi and Chuckie eagerly picked each other, surprising them both. Once the teams were fully arranged, they drew a line in the sand to separate them, and started the game, with Shenzi and Chuckie's team serving. When several minutes passed, they decided to take a break and rest for another round. "Hey, sexy!" They turned, and saw the jocks walking up. "You," One looked at Shenzi, surprising her, "You want to ditch these losers, and join us?"

"No thanks," She shook her head, "I'm fine here."

"Hey." The probable leader knelt down to her level, with a serious look on his face. "I don't take no for an answer."

"I like someone else," She blurted out.

"Oh, really? Who?"

She looked at who the jocks least expected. "Chuckie." He was more surprised than all of them put together. "I like Chuckie." She crawled up to him, and laid on his chest.

"Fine," One jock shrugged, "There are sexier girls here anyway." With that, they walked away.

"W-wow," Chuckie stammered, "Pretty convincing."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you lying about liking me, so that the jocks would back off," He clarified.

"What? I wasn't lying. Why would I lie about that?"

"Because no one would ever like me that way," He shrugged.

"That's not true!" She insisted. "Just because you're not a jock, doesn't mean you're not attractive. I was being completely, 100% honest; I like you, in that way."

He didn't know what to say, other than one word: "Really?"

"Uh huh," She nodded, before noticing something, "What's that in your pocket?"

He glanced down, and his eyes widened. Her present! He forgot to give it to her! "Um, I-I, it's for you." He took it out, and gently set it in her hand.

"For me?" She looked surprised. "Oh, it's beautiful! I love it!" She hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Chuckie! But... what's the occasion?"

"No occasion," He shrugged, "I just need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Well Shen," He hesitated. Why? He didn't know. She said that she likes him! Why was it so hard for him to say it? "I... I like you, in that way."

A shy blush grew on her cheeks. "Y-you do?"

"Yeah," He nodded, and helped put the necklace on her, "Ever since you and Frankie started attending our school."

"It's been that long? How come you never told me?"

"I... I was afraid of ruining our friendship."

"Oh. Well, I had the same fear, so I never told you. My crush on you blossomed when you helped me find the room for our first class. You're just so helpful, generous, funny..." When Chuckie laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, she stopped rambling. "S-sorry. My point is, I've liked you for as long as you've liked me."

"O-okay," He stammered, "So um... do you want to... get some lunch sometime? We can have hamburgers at the mall or something, whatever you want. My treat."

A shy smile grew on her face. "That sounds perfect... just like you are." She kissed his cheek, making a deep blush grow.

"Um, th-thanks Shen, but I'm not perfect. You are, not me."

"Say what? I'm not perfect. I'm just a geeky weirdo." Her head hung low.

Her blush deepened and her gaze averted when a gentle hand tucked her under her chin, and made her look up. "You're perfect to me," Chuckie almost whispered to her. He wanted to kiss her, but without the others possibly making it awkward. Although it seemed like they read his mind.

"Don't mind us," Lil assured them.

"You do what you want," Tommy added as they walked away to their towels.

When they were alone, the two spectacled teens silently gazed into each other's eyes as the waves repeatedly washed up. With his eyes shut, his lips puckered, and his hand still at her chin, Chuckie leaned in and gently connected his lips with hers. She was surprised at first, but her eyes blinked shut and her lips puckered against his. Her hands laid on his shoulders, as his one hand moved from her chin to her blushing cheek. They stayed in place for several seconds as the breeze blew their hair and swimsuits slightly. But the need for air took over; They separated after what seemed like an eternity, and gazed at each other once again. "Ch-Chuckie?"

"Yes?"

"You know how you said that you're not perfect?"

"Yeah."

She smiled lovingly at him, as she brushed some long red hair from his eyes. "You're perfect to me."

* * *

 **(A/N: What'd I tell you? Mushy, right? XD You know the disclaimer.)**


	17. Q: Quiz

**(A/N: This one just came to me right away, that's why it's finished this soon after the last one. Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **Q- Quiz**

Summary: Shenzi is having doubts about her relationship with her boyfriend, Sean. When she takes a relationship quiz online, she starts to think that she's meant for... someone else. 

* * *

"Are you dating Mr. Right, Mr. Right Now or Mr. Wrong? Find out with our fun quiz!" 14-year-old Shenzi Tuck mentally read the web page on a Sunday afternoon. For the lazy day, she was wearing a white mini skirt with black and light pink hearts all over it, matching slip-on shoes, a light pink extension in her long bangs, light pink pixel face heart earrings, and a loose, black cropped t-shirt. She was currently laying on her bed, browsing on her laptop absentmindedly, when she came across this page.

The quiz piqued her interest; She was currently in a relationship with 16-year-old "pretty boy" Sean Butler, but was having some doubts that he actually cared about her. She then ultimately decided to take the quiz to at least estimate the fate of their relationship.

"1) He's out with the guys and when your boyfriend calls to check in you tell him you've come down with the flu. He:  
(o) Leaves the boys and comes right over with chicken soup.  
(o) Offers to come over, but is noticeably relieved when you tell him he doesn't have to.  
(o) Says he hopes you feel better and will call you tomorrow."

She selected the third one; Sean was always "too busy" to help her with anything.0

"2) When you're telling your man how your day was, he's usually:  
(o) Half listening.  
(o) Intentionally listening.  
(o) Distracted."

Third, definitely. He would stare at himself in the mirror at times she would be trying to talk with him.

"3) The biggest issue your family has with your boo is:  
(o) They don't think it will last too long.  
(o) They wish he could come over more for family dinners.  
(o) They think he's rude."

That one wasn't too tough; Third. He was checking himself out almost the whole time he met her family. Frankie had given him a killer glare for ignoring her baby sister.

"4) The last time your boyfriend brought you flowers, it was:  
(o) Just because! No reason.  
(o) Oh, hmm . . . Well, I mean, I totally don't even need flowers. I don't have much of a green thumb anyway.  
(o) I caught him texting with another girl!"

Hmm... he never gave her flowers before. Most likely the third would be true, so she selected it. He did stares at other girls while with her.

"5) You see each other every day at school, but on the weekends:  
(o) We do either a Friday or Saturday night date night.  
(o) He disappears! I mean, guys totally do that, right?  
(o) Oh we're still together all weekend, when he's not working."

This time, she chose the second one. What the heck did he do every weekend? He was unavailable yesterday, the day before that, and the weekend before that! It was pretty suspicious.

"6) His Facebook status says:  
(o) Single  
(o) In a relationship... with me!  
(o) Blank, he doesn't have a relationship status listed."

Pah! Was that a trick question? Second one! The boy was quite the narcissist.

"7) You're scrambling to find a date to your cousin's wedding, so you invite your man even though you've only been dating a month. Would he accept?  
(o) He'd already have some mysterious plans that night.  
(o) He'd accept, but after some hesitation.  
(o) Yes, absolutely! Meeting my fam would not freak him out."

She selected the first one, related to the fifth question.

After answering, she got the results. Turned out, surprise surprise, Sean was: "Mr. Wrong. Sure, you can get blinded by love, but we're gonna need you to put your glasses on for this one. Not only is he not a keeper, he's not even worth the time it took you to do this quiz! Not every guy you meet will be The One, but the point is to have fun while you're looking. This guy is more trouble than he's worth. Ditch the zero and find a hero!"

She then stood off her bed, closed her laptop to put it in sleep mode, and got dressed for a day in the park with her friends. Her friends are 15-year-old Chuckie Finster, his younger stepsister 14-year-old Kimi, 13-year-old Tommy Pickles, his younger brother 12-year-old Dil, and twins 15-year-old Phil and Lil DeVille. She simply went with a white vintage-style flare dress with black straps and chestline, and a heart print matching her shoes, which she kept on.

After grabbing her purse, she headed out after telling her parents about her plans and they wished her a good time. As she walked along the block, she suddenly saw Tommy and Dil's cousin, 16-year-old Angelica Pickles' house in front of her. She decided to see if Angelica wanted to come with her and her friends to the park. When she walked up to the porch, she spotted some rustling in the living room; Now curious, she went to sneak a peek. To her shock, not to mention horror, she saw Sean, making out with Angelica! She knew it! He was cheating on her all along! Now furious, she stomped up to the porch, practically slammed the door open, and stomped up to them. "SEAN BUTLER!" She screamed, startling them into falling on the floor. "What do you think you're doing?! You're going out with _me!_ "

"Sorry Shenzi," Sean said to her, with no sympathy, "It's not my fault Angelica's more attractive than you." The blonde girl shrugged, also lacking remorse.

"Wha..." Shenzi stammered in disbelief, "We're, we're over, you cheating jerk!" She stomped out of the house, slammed the door shut, and ran to the park. Not only were her supportive friends there, it was her go-to place when she was depressed, troubled, or emotionally hurt. Through the tears in her eyes, she didn't see the concerned expressions on her friends' faces.

"Shenzi!" Chuckie immediately took her in his comforting arms. "What happened?"

"Sh-Sean was ch-cheating on me!" She sobbed in his chest. "A-and with _Angelica,_ no less!"

She heard Tommy sigh angrily. "I had a feeling that Sean was a no-good cheater."

"Me too," Chuckie agreed.

"I, I should've listened to you guys," She mumbled, although they understood her dialogue, "I was blind. I didn't want to believe that he was unfaithful, so I didn't."

"It's okay, Shen," Chuckie rubbed her back and stroked her hair in comfort, "You didn't know."

As he hugged her, she felt something from his embrace. That something was... serenity. Or was it something else? Either way, she actually liked it. Her cheeks flushed and her heart jumped a bit when she felt him kiss the top of her head. She just tightened her grip on him, and laid quietly on his chest. Hmm, she wondered...

That night, after changing into her black and pastel rainbow hearts pajamas and brushing her teeth, she opened her laptop and re-opened the quiz page back to the beginning. Why was she taking the quiz again? Because she wanted to determine, or estimate, if Chuckie was a good boyfriend for her.

After starting the quiz, she chose "Leaves the boys and comes right over with chicken soup." for the first question. Chuckie was selfless enough to take care of her like that. On the second question, she answered "Intentionally listening." He was always interested in what she had to say. The third question was hard to answer, considering her family had no problems with Chuckie. So she went with "They wish he could come over more for family dinners." They did always love his visits. For the fourth question, she immediately chose "Just because! No reason." It sounded a lot like him. On question five, after little consideration, she selected "We do either a Friday or Saturday night date night." He would never ditch her for anything, unless it was important. For question six, she selected "Blank, he doesn't have a relationship status listed." Because he truly didn't have one. On the seventh and last question, she chose "Yes, absolutely! Meeting my fam would not freak him out." When he did meet her parents, he was completely calm. With hope, she went to look at the results.

To her delight and surprise, it read: "Mr. Right. Is he a keeper? Oh honey, he's so much of a keeper, we're really hoping he's got a brother for us! Your man is not afraid of a commtment or to show how much he cares about you, and he's absolutely down for a fun time all the time. He's a great communicator; always listening to whatever you're saying, which is the key to a long-lasting relationship. Keep him around for sure!"

' _Yes!_ ' She thought to herself. ' _I knew it!_ ' Truthfully, before she hooked up with Sean, she had a huge crush on Chuckie, but gave up upon hearing about his crush on Nicole Boscarelli, a girl in their school who was clearly prettier and overall more attractive than her. Then she met Sean; He seemed to be interested in her, and asked her out. Eager to get over Chuckie, she accepted and they had been dating ever since... until today. And she heard that Nicole had a boyfriend, jock extraordinaire Fridge Kaminski, so Chuckie seemingly got over his crush on her. But... she wasn't over him. No matter how many times she told herself that she was, she just wasn't. She felt dirty thinking about Chuckie while out with Sean, but she couldn't help it. Chuckie was just so handsome, more than Sean could even dream of being, and was sweet and generous as well.

Before she fell asleep, she made her decision; The next time she sees Chuckie, she's going to ask him out. She only hoped that he was over Nicole by now.

* * *

The next day, which was Monday, she came up to Chuckie at his locker while he was taking out his textbook for the first class. "Um, Ch-Chuckie?" She stammered.

He turned to look at her. "Hey, Shenzi," He smiled, making her heart pound hard, "What's up?"

"Um... uh..." She couldn't spit the words out. Dang it, why'd he have to be so cute?! It was almost like he was hypnotizing her with that smile. "I... doyouwanttogooutsometime?" She quickly blurted out.

"Huh?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What'd you say? I couldn't understand you."

"S-sorry, um... d-do you want to go out sometime?" She repeated her question more slowly.

He looked surprised at her request, as dread filled her up to the bone. Would he say no? Not want to be friends with her anymore? Or by a small chance, would he say... "Sure," He replied, "That sounds great."

"R-really?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "What do you have in mind? If you don't have any ideas, I can think of something."

"Well um... I was thinking maybe we can hang out at the mall after school."

He smiled warmly at her. "That sounds perfect."

Later that day, after school was out and homework was done, the two friends met at the Big Mall entrance after being dropped off by their respective parents. "H-hi Chuckie," She stammered shyly.

"Hey Shen," He took her hand in his, making her cheeks flush, "Come on, let's find a place to sit in there." He led her into the building, and searched for some good seats. "How about over there?" He gestured to a set of seats by Target.

"Looks good to me," She nodded.

"Alright then." With that, he started leading her to the seats, but they passed by a bakery booth. "Um, d-do you want a drink? Or something o eat?"

"S-sure," She shrugged. Sean never offered to get anything for her. "That sounds great. I'm kind of hungry, and a bit thirsty too." She went to take out her wallet.

"No, no," He shook his head, taking out his own wallet, "It's on me."

That really surprised her. "O-okay. Um, you sure?"

"I'm sure," He nodded, "I got a second job recently, that pays a lot. Don't worry about it. What would you like?"

"Hmm..." She looked at the selection of small-ish desserts and drinks.

"What can I help you with?" The woman greeted them.

"Um... I'd like a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, and a 20-ounce Pepsi, please."

"No problem," She gave the Goth girl what she requested.

"Thanks."

Chuckie took out the required amount of money, and laid it on the counter. "Keep the change."

"Thank you," The woman nodded, as Shenzi took her cupcake and bottle in each hand. "You're a lucky girl," She told Shenzi, to her surprise. "That Chuckie boy is so sweet and generous."

"Y-yep," She nodded, "He's my best friend. Um, thanks for uh... th-these."

"It's my pleasure, dear."

With that, she timidly followed her date to the seats. When they sat down, she felt reluctant, but when Chuckie gave her a smile that told her "Go ahead", she sidled up to him. The bottle was held securely between their legs, as she took a frosting-filled bite out of the pastry after lowering the cup down. "That good?" He asked her, and she nodded with some white and chocolate bits on her lips. He chuckled in amusement, as she smiled up at him.

"What? What's funny?" She giggled.

"No offense, but you eat like a boy," He chuckled, "You've got a little something on your face." He grabbed a coupple napkins from the food court, got them wet from a water fountain close by, sat next to Shenzi, and carefully wiped her lips clean.

"Thanks," She giggled, "And none taken."

"No prob," He threw the napkins away, and smiled at her as she continued eating, now being more careful, and occasionally taking gulps of Pepsi.

"You want some?" She offered.

"Well, I... I am kind of thirsty."

"Then go ahead; I don't mind. I'm not sick or anything."

"O-okay," He accepted the bottle, "Thanks." After taking a couple gulps, he set it back between their legs.

"I'm having a great time," She remarked after swallowing a bite.

"Me too," He agreed, and kissed her cheek, making a blush grow.

"We don't need to do anything exciting," She smiled up at him, "Just being with you is enough." She took another bite, so there was no frosting left.

"Thanks Shen," He blushed timidly, "Um... I, I'm really sorry about Sean."

"It's okay," She assured him, "He wasn't right for me anyway. Honestly, I... I took this relationship quiz online, basing the answers on Sean, to determine if he was Mr. Wrong or Right."

"And... he was Mr. Wrong?"

"Yep," She nodded, "And... I uh, I then took it again after we were at the park, but basing the answers off of... y-you."

"Me?" He looked a bit surprised at that. "What was my result?"

She let a loving smile grew. "You were Mr. Right. And so... since I was, uh, I mean _am_ single, I remembered my crush on you, and..." Her hand flew up to her mouth in shock.0

Although it did no good; He heard her every word, and looked very surprised. "Y-you liked me?"

"Yeah," She nodded, "But... I still like you. Even while I dated Sean, and... you had eyes for... Nicole."

"O-oh," He stammered, "Well, can I be honest with you?" Fear filled her up, so she merely nodded, afraid of saying the wrong thing. "I... I've liked you too."

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "R-really? You do?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "You don't deserve a jerk like Sean. You deserve someone who will love you..." She blushed more deeply when he brushed her hair from her face, "And... respect you." He kissed her forehead with one hand on her cheek. "And Shen... I would do all those things for you, whether you're my girlfriend or not."

She smiled shyly at him. "But you already do those things."

"Yeah, I do," He nodded, "And I'll still do them for you, no matter what."

Her hand gently held his wrist. "Thanks, Chuckie."

"It's my pleasure," He laid his forehead on hers, "No thanks are needed. So, um... do you want to go out with me again?"

Her smile grew as she gazed into his brown eyes. "Yes, I do. Maybe we can have some dinner."

"That sounds great. This Saturday? I can take you to Outback Steakhouse; They have great food."

"It's a date," She agreed.

As they cuddled together on the couch, her heart flew with joy. She was now dating the true boy of her dreams; One who loves, respects, and cherishes her. Her life was going to be great with Chuckie Finster by her side through it all. He would love her, support her through any obstacles, and hopefully respect her decisions. She just knew it.

* * *

 **(A/N: The relationship quiz is from an actual site, just an FYI. You know the disclaimer.)**


	18. R: Remember

**(A/N: Two in one day? That doesn't happen often! Well, enjoy this tragic oneshot.)**

* * *

 **R- Remember**

Summary: Chuckie remembers his lovely wife after she leaves our planet Earth... intentionally. Around a week after, he gets the surprise of his life. 

* * *

_"Chuckie!" 21-year-old Shenzi Tuck, no Finster, giggled as her husband of almost a year, Chuckie Finster, lifted her up like a child without warning and laid her face-up on their bed. She was wearing a black and pink lace-trimmed babydoll that was open on the front, and for slight modesty, a pair of black and pink argyle "Drama Queen" boxer shorts over her black and pink panties._

 _Chuckie smiled as he watched his beautiful wife still laughing on the bed. She was the cutest, prettiest, most amazing girl in the whole world in his eyes. Not to mention her laugh was adorable. If only he knew that she was hiding something dark from him._

 _He jumped down on the bed, kicking his shoes off, and started a playful tickle attack on her curvy sides and flat stomach, all bared by her sexy babydoll top. Her squeals and laughs were like music to his ears as she squirmed, kicked, and tried to push his hands away. He couldn't help but laugh himself as he had playful, innocent fun with his wife._

 _As he tickled her sides, just where they curved in, he lunged his head down and blew a raspberry in her belly button. She squealed loudly and tried to shove his head away as he kept going. "Chuckie, stop!" She laughed. But instead, he crawled up to her left arm, held it up, and teasingly tickled her smooth, bare armpit with one finger and a devious grin. She squealed again, and through her hysterical laughter, she managed to shove him face-up next to her. He finally stopped, so she could catch her breath. "Ch-Chuckie," She giggled breathlessly, "You're s-silly."_

 _"I know," He chuckled as he laid on his side, his right hand supporting his head, so he could look at her, "But you're fun to "be silly" with." He then saw the time on the clock in their bedroom. "Well, it's almost 9. How about I make you some breakfast?" He poked her growling tummy right in her belly button, making her squeal again and use her arms as a shield._

 _"S-sounds good," She agreed._

 _"I already know your favorite," He winked at her, "I'll be right back." He stood on the floor, and started walking to their kitchen._

 _"Wait!" He turned around at his wife's outburst._

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Kiss me first?" She playfully pouted with fluttering eyelashes._

 _Chuckling in amusement, he leaned down and kissed her soft lips for a few seconds. "Okay, now I'll start on that breakfast, my love." After poking her tummy one last time, resulting in a squeak and a giggle, he headed for the kitchen. Little did he know, it was the last wonderful morning he ever had with her._

* * *

 _"We are here to celebrate the wonderful life of Shenzibeth Callie-Belle Tuck." Chuckie's head hung low as he listened to the speech at the funeral for his lovely wife. The black casket was open, so he couldn't bear to look at her laying still and lifeless. 22-year-old Frankie Tuck, Shenzi's stepsister, was crying softly, yet pitifully in her parents' arms._

 _What hurt him most was how she died; Judging by the bruise on her neck, she hung herself. She was seriously driven to suicide by local bullies. He wanted to kill all those heartless pricks in a slow, painful manner, so they could suffer the way he was suffering. Because of them, he lost his wife forever. All because they couldn't spare one wonderful person the pain of "cold, hard truths". He just couldn't comprehend it._

 _When people started filing out to head for the cemetery, Chuckie lingered behind at the casket, his heart shattering once more at his peacefully dead wife. He sighed shakily, with tears falling rapidly, as he stroked her hair from her forehead. "Shen," He whispered, "Why'd you do this? I..." He choked up, "I love you." He tenderly kissed her forehead, before he started sobbing in his hands. He helped in carrying the casket, along with his in-laws, as he stayed quiet with his head down._

 _He held back more sobs as the casket was closed and buried in the ground, never to be seen again. When his younger stepsister, 21-year-old Kimi Finster laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, he turned around and she let him cry in her shoulder._

* * *

After snapping back to reality, 22-year-old Chuckie Finster walked up to the grave stone that he visited every day since... it happened. It read "Shenzibeth Callie-Belle Tuck" along with her birth date "08/27/89", and the day she... passed on: "08/16/11". He set a black rose, one of her favorite flowers, at the stone and hid his face behind his arm, which rested on his knee. After only a week, visiting his wife's grave became a regular thing, no matter how much it depressed him. In his dreams, he could still see her face, hear her voice, feel her soft touch; He would wake up and feel sad about them being only dreams. His beautiful wife was never coming back.

From the corner of his eye, he saw an unnaturally bright light; He had to shield his eyes until it dimmed, then disappeared entirely. But when he looked again, he received the shock of his life: Sitting on the grave stone, right there in front of him, was Shenzi! She was wearing a white strapless corset dress with black lace trimming the neckline and skirt, black opaque tights, white knee-high boots with black laces, her favorite black rose earrings, and her black harlequin eyeglasses. She had small, white angel wings on her back, and a gold, almost yellow, halo hovering above her head. He let out a shaky gasp as they stared at one another. "She-she-she...?!"

"It's me," She smiled up at him, "I'm an angel now."

He smiled back at her, with pure love in his eyes. "You always have been one. You were, and are, always my angel." He went to hold her, but stopped himself. He wouldn't be able to touch her... right?

Shenzi seemed to read his mind, since she stepped down in the grass and embraced him with her head on his chest. "We can touch each other, Chuckie," She whispered to him.

He tightened his hold on her, as he buried his face in her hair and shoulder. "Oh Shenzi," He whispered with his hands in her dark hair and on her back, being careful of her wings. They both sat in the grass as tears leaked from his eyes. "I... I've missed you so much." He kissed the side of her head.

"I've missed you too," She mumbled with her face in his chest.

After they pulled back a bit, they shared a sweet, passionate kiss that lasted almost a whole minute. Chuckie's hands cupped her cheeks, with tears streaming down his, as her own hands rested on his upper arms. Tears rolled down her cheeks and on his hands. He wouldn't dare question her on why she committed suicide, in fear of making her leave in discomfort. When they separated, she laid on his chest and he held her tightly without making her uncomfortable. "What's it like in heaven, my love?" He asked her.

"It's wonderful," She smiled up at him, "I finally met my birth mother, and... yours too."

His breath hitched a bit. She met his birth mother in heaven? "Y-you did?"

"Mm hmm," She nodded, playing with his shirt collar. Her actions alone almost made him break down; He had missed that. "She loves that you picked me as your wife. She said you have good taste in girls."

He smiled at what she said. "Well, she's right," He stroked her soft hair, "I do have good taste in girls. What did you birth mother say to you?"

"She um, she's really happy that I married a good man," She replied, "And that... I have great taste in boys."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Really?"

"Uh huh," She nodded, "And... she's really proud of me. And your birth mother is really proud of you."

Tears welled up in his eyes. He had a strong feeling that Melinda Finster and Maya Tuck had witnessed their marriage from their better place; Now, it's obvious that they did. With a shaky sigh, he laid his forehead on hers, and cupped her cheek as his tears finally fell. He felt her own tears roll down onto his hand as he held her closer. "I, I love you so much."

"I love you too," She whispered back.

"Then why'd you leave me?" He asked her by accident. Oops!

"I... uh..." She hesitated, "Be-because I couldn't handle the pain. Those insults cut me really deep."

"You could've gone to me," He gently told her, "I would've made you feel better."

"I know," She hid her face on his shoulder in shame, "But it's too late now; I can't go back." She choked up a bit. "I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not," He insisted, "Suicide isn't exactly a smart move, but that doesn't make you an idiot."

"I, I was just hoping that you aren't mad at me." "N-no," He shook her head, "I'm not mad. I'm not happy, but I'm not mad. Just... really depressed."

She buried her face in his chest, and let soft cries out. "I, I'm so sorry."

He rubbed her back, with his head laying on hers, and rocked her back and forth a bit as he carefully sat against the grave stone. His heart jumped in surprise when his head suddenly fell and his arms jerked forward, as he suddenly had no support. When he looked down, he saw that Shenzi was turning transparent. "Wha-what's happening?"

"It's time," Her head hung in sadness, "I have to leave this Earth now."

"N-no!" He cried in despair. "You can't!"

"I'm sorry, this is beyond my control," She shook her head, "Don't forget me."

"Believe me, I won't." He caressed her cheek the best he could. "I love you."

"I love you too." And with that, she disappeared completely.

Now Chuckie was completely alone. He hid his face in his arms and knees as he let sobs out. After seeing his wife as an angel one last time, he didn't think he could make it through life without her. How could he work at his job, shop for groceries, and socialize without the love of his life by his side? He couldn't, that's how. He just couldn't. He then made a life-changing decision right there. He stood up, and drove his car to the river; With fear and hesitation, he sped up the vehicle, and made his move.

* * *

When he woke up, he shielded his eyes at the sudden bright, clear sky above him. He stood up, and his heart jumped when he realized; He was standing on a cloud! He was afraid of falling, but to his surprise, it completely supported his weight. After given access, he walked through the golden gates, and saw what looked like a small town in the sky. He wondered who he would meet up here? When he went to stretch his arms back, something prevented him from doing so; He looked back, and saw that he now had angel wings on his back! He looked in a body of clean water, and saw a yellowish-gold halo hovering above his head as well.

"Chuckie?" His head shot up, and saw who he thought was Shenzi. But after seeing that her hair reached her chin, he realized it was Maya.

"Mi-Mrs. Tuck?"

"Call me Maya," She smiled and hugged him, "It's so wonderful to finally meet my son-in-law."

He then hugged her back. "Um, Sh-Shenzi's father, her loving father, he told me about you. And uh... I, I can see where Shenzi got her beauty from."

She giggled as a blush grew on her cheeks. "Aww, you're too much. My little girl made a great choice for a husband." She kissed his cheek.

"Chuckie?" He looked behind his mother-in-law, and to his shock, he saw Melinda! She looked just like in her pictures!

"Mo... Mo... Mom?" He stuttered in awe. After Maya let him go, he ran to Melinda, and jumped in her arms so she hugged him tightly.

"Oh, my son," She cried with joy, "You've grown into such a handsome young man." Chuckie couldn't say anything out of shock. "I'm so proud of you."

He felt like he had to say something. "Um, I, I heard that you met Shenzi."

"Oh yes," Melinda nodded, "She's the sweetest girl I've ever met. You made the perfect choice for a wife."

"Speaking of which," Maya piped up, and pointed behind him.

He looked, and his heart started pounding with his eyes wide at what he saw; Shenzi! Right there in front of him! "Chuckie!" Since he couldn't move from shock, she ran to him and practically leapt in his arms. She cried in his shoulder with sheer joy as he hugged her tightly. "Oh my, Ch-Chuckie! I can't believe it!"

Like earlier, he couldn't say anything as he cried in her hair. Once again, he was able to touch her physically, and this time, she'll never fade away. They then rested their foreheads together as they stared into each other's tear-filled eyes. "Shenzi, I love you so much," He kissed her passionately on her lips, not minding that their mothers were watching.

"I love you too," She cried after he pulled away. She was still in her white and black dress from when she came to him in the cemetery, along with the tights, boots, and earrings. Maya and Melinda watched with tears of joy as their daughter and son, respectively, had their romantic, heartwarming reunion.

"You're so beautiful," He whispered with tears falling, as he stroked her hair.

"And you're so handsome," She whispered back, as she wiped his tears away. She didn't bother asking him how he came to heaven; Because she was too happy to be back in his arms, never to fade away from him ever again. Plus she saw what he did anyway, but didn't ask or interrogate him about it. When a tear rolled down her cheek, he kissed it away, ignoring the salty taste.

As the day rolled by, while their friends mourned for them on Earth, the couple spent time with their mothers, happy to be reunited or acquainted with them. Shenzi and Chuckie Finster knew one thing; With each other, the afterlife was going to be wonderful.

* * *

 **(A/N: Yeah, the ending with Chuckie in heaven was a bit rushed, but whatever. You know the disclaimer.)**


	19. S: Spooky

**(A/N: Well, happy Halloween in January! Enjoy this oneshot!)**

* * *

 **S- Spooky**

Summary: When a Halloween costume contest is announced to take place at the convention center in town, high school sweethearts Shenzi and Chuckie decided to enter. 

* * *

When 18-year-old Chuckie Finster turned to walk out the school doors to laze around at home after doing his homework, he saw his girlfriend of 3 years, 18-year-old Shenzi Tuck running up to him. He was concerned at first, worrying that she was distressed, but when he saw her wide, ecstatic smile, his worries faded away. "Chuckie, look what Dil gave me!" She held a piece of paper up to let him see. He saw that it was a poster for a Halloween costume contest for couples at the local convention center. "Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yeah, it does," He nodded.

"Can we enter? Please?" She pleaded him.

He smiled lovingly at her; He could never say no to her, especially when she had her pleading face on. "Sure we can; It sounds great."

"Yay!" She cheered, and hugged him tightly. "After school, we can shop around for matching costumes! We can order anything we need online; We have plenty of time."

"Sounds like a plan."

After they finished their homework together at his house, they took his car to The Big Mall for their first stop. "So, you have any ideas on what we should do? If you don't have any, I can think of something."

"I actually do," She told him, "I was thinking... maybe we can be Harley Quinn and the Joker from Suicide Squad." That kind of excited him, internally. From what he remembered, Harley Quinn had quite the sexy outfit for most of the film. He could only imagine how Shenzi would look. "I can order shoes, a shirt, and a prop bat online. I know where to get everything else."

"Th-that sounds great," He stammered, the image of his girlfriend as "Daddy's Lil' Monster" running in his head. What? Shenzi's sexy! He can't help it! He has hormones! Quit your laughing! He snapped out of it just in time to make a turn.

"Awesome," She smiled with excitement, "We can get your costume at Party City after we're done here."

"Alrighty then."

The couple browsed around Hot Topic in the mall, as Shenzi picked up anything she needed. He was just browsing for nothing after not finding any pieces for his look. After she was done, they went back to his car and drove to Party City, where he found what he needed. Although all that was included was a shirt attached to a jacket, so he bought green spray-on hair dye and planned on using items he already had at home. They drove to her house first, where he watched her, after she let him, order the rest of her pieces online.

As he looked in his closet for jeans and shoes for his costume, the image of Shenzi in her own costume entered his mind again. He had a strong feeling that at the contest, she'll receive wolf whistles from every nerd and/or geek they encounter, if not win for sexiest costume. She had a great figure, while at the same time didn't look like a stick. She'll look amazing, he just knew it. After finding the perfect items, he had dinner with his parents and stepsister, where he told them his and Shenzi's plans involving the costume contest. They thought is sounded fun, and wished him luck in winning a prize, before Kimi decided to enter with her boyfriend, Tommy Pickles. "May the best couple win," She challenged her stepbrother.

"You're on," He challenged her back.

* * *

On Halloween night, after changing into his costume, applying a temporary tattoo reading "Damaged" on his forehead, and spraying his hair so it was mostly green, he hopped in his car as Tommy picked Kimi up, and headed for the Tuck residence. When he was let inside by Frankie, who was dressed up for the contest, he walked in the house. "You look great, Chuck," Frankie complimented him.

"Thanks," He shrugged modestly.

"Shenzi's almost ready. I bet you're excited for that," She giggled.

"Wha-what do you mean?" He stuttered.

"You want to see her in that sexy costume, don't you?" She teased him.

"O-okay I do," Chuckie admitted, "I have hormones."

"It's okay, I understand," Frankie assured him, "You're a guy with a pretty girlfriend."

"More than pretty," He added.

"I'm ready!" His heart jumped when he heard his girlfriend's voice.

"I'll get her." Frankie stood on the floor, and walked up the stairs to her stepsister's bedroom. "Chuckie's already here. He came around a minute ago."

"Yay!" She cheered shortly. "Well, may the best couple win."

"You're on, sis."

With that, he heard clicking footsteps, and when he saw his girlfriend, his eyes almost fell out of his head and his cheeks flushed almost as red as his natural hair. She was wearing black low-riding fishnet tights, red and blue sequin hot pants that rode low as well, a black belt with gold studs and diamond buckle, black and white Harley Quinn cosplay ankle boots with a red 3-inch heel, gold spike cuffs on her wrists, an ivory choker with "Puddin" on the front in gold letters, two HQ red, white, and blue hair bows just by her two high ponytails, and a white slightly cropped "Daddy's Lil' Monster" raglan shirt. Her shirt was shorter than the character's, so from the pose she was in, with her chest slightly out and holding her prop bat on her shoulders, the very bottom of her belly button just barely peeked out. Not to mention she was chewing pink bubble gum for her look, and blowing bubbles. He couldn't say anything as he gawked at her, jaw lowered and eyes wide.

She giggled after her bubble popped. "You like what you see?" She smiled flirtatiously.

"Uh," He could only sputter out one word, as he simply nodded his head. "Uh-uh huh."

"Come on, let's head over there," She giggled some more, as she grabbed her red, blue, and gold "Property of the Joker" bomber jacket from the couch. The two boarded his car, and he started driving to the convention center. To keep him from getting distracted, she zipped up her jacket to hide her stomach and hips. "You look great."

"Thanks," He briefly smiled at her. From home, he chose black jeans and black and white canvas sneakers.

"I'm surprised you didn't use makeup."

"Well I'm not a fan of it, even on Halloween. I ended up smudging it when I wore it when I was little."

"Ah," She nodded, "Same here. Plus it's hard to apply sometimes, and I'd mostly rather go without it."

"That is true," He agreed with her. "Also, um... I don't think Harley Quinn wore fishnet tights in Suicide Squad."

She glanced down at her legs, before shrugging. "Oh well," She brushed it off, making him chuckle. "This looks better anyway."

"Yep it does," He nodded a bit enthusiastically without thinking.

"You really think so?" She giggled.

"Y-yeah," He stammered, "Okay Shen, I'm going to be completely honest with you; I think you look really sexy in that outfit." Her cheeks flushed shyly. "I guarantee you'll be the prettiest girl there."

"Aww, thanks Chuckie," She kissed his cheek, "And you look very handsome. Sexy, even."

"Th-thanks Shen," He stammered. Him, sexy? He couldn't help but not believe it, although he kept it to himself. He didn't want to ruin their fun time with his self confidence issues. After a few more minutes of driving, he parked in a separate lot from the center, due to the center's parking lot being completely full. "Well, it's good exercise anyway," He shrugged, and she agreed with him while unzipping her jacket. Hand-in-hand, they walked along the sidewalk, following a costumed crowd. When they entered the building, it was packed with people of all ages in various costumes. Some were even dressed as the Joker and Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad, like Chuckie and Shenzi were. From the slight heat inside, she took off her jacket and held it on her elbow.

When one nerdy-looking guy, who came alone and was dressed as the SS Joker, saw Shenzi, he looked like he just saw a pot of gold. "WHO-O-O-O-O-A!" He suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, startling her, Chuckie, and other patrons. "Hot babe alert!"

"Oh boy," Chuckie mumbled under his breath.

"Say, sexy," He went up in her personal space after pulling her away from her boyfriend, who quickly caught her jacket when it fell off her arm, and laid a hand on her back, between her shirt and bottoms, so he was touching her bare skin, "How about you ditch this loser, and enter the contest with me?"

"N-no thanks," She declined his "kind" offer, and tried to walk back to Chuckie.

"Come o-o-on," He tried to insist, "He's barely even trying with that costume. His hair's not completely green, and his pants and shoes look like he got them from his closet."

She crossed her arms with a glare. "He looks perfect to me, buster. Now leave me alone. I'm not entering with you."

"Come on, babe," The creep laid his cold hands on her bare hips, slightly under her shirt, making her skin twitch and her breath hitch, although he didn't seem to care, "We'll look so good together."

"Hey!" Chuckie stomped up to them, and shoved him away from Shenzi. "She's entering with me, and that's that! Now back off before I call security for harrassment!" With that threat, the creep finally backed off, and walked away from the nervous girl. "You alright, Shen?" He took her in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm okay," She nodded, "He didn't hurt me. He just touched me in sensitive spots."

"Sensitive spots?" He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes," She giggled, "I'm ticklish; Sue me."

"Trust me, I know," He playfully teased her, "Now then, let's go sign in before anyone else tries to sweep you off your feet."

"Good idea," She nodded.

* * *

After a while, it was time to hand out the prizes for the winners. "Firstly, the prize for best Disney Couple goes to... Frankie Tuck and Bobby Zimmeruski!" Shenzi and Chuckie cheered for them as they accepted the ribbon and trophy. They were dressed as Snow White and her prince. "The honor of winning the prize for the best Literature Couple goes to... Kimi Finster and Tommy Pickles!" They accepted the ribbon and trophy as onlookers cheered for them. They were dressed as Alice and the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. There was one more winning couple left, but who was it? "And last, but not least, the prize for best Comic Book Couple goes to... Shenzi Tuck and Chuckie Finster!" The couple cheered along with the audience as they walked on stage to accept their ribbon and trophy.

The costumed members of the contest lingered for a while, the group of friends gathering at one spot. "Congratulations, guys!" Frankie smiled at her sister and future brother-in-law.

"You too!" Shenzi congratulated her back. "Yours and Bobby's costumes are great!"

"Thanks," Bobby chimed in, "Yours are too. Pretty sexy outfit, Shen."

"Back off, Zimmeruski," Chuckie joked, knowing that he would never steal anyone away, "She's mine."

"I know," He chuckled.

"Thanks Bobby," Shenzi blushed.

After a while of meeting up with Tommy and Kimi to congratulate them on their winning a prize, they began to leave for home. Once Shenzi and Chuckie arrived at his house, after she packed a bag to stay overnight with him, after asking their parents, they went straight up to his bedroom. They lounged on his bed as they waited for Kira to finish making dinner. "I had fun today," Shenzi remarked. Her jacket was slung on Chuckie's desk chair, while her bat was propped up on his desk.

"Me too," He agreed with her, "Um, y-you really do look sexy."

"Aww, thanks Chuckie," She blushed again, and kissed his cheek, "You do too."

"Um, I, I hate to ruin our moment, but I need to take a shower, and wash this dye out, possibly the tattoo as well." After she crawled away a bit, Chuckie stood on the floor, grabbed some pajamas from his dresser, and headed for the bathroom. "You just hang out here until I'm done." After she nodded, he shut the bathroom door after grabbing a towel and wash cloth. After closing his bedroom door, she stripped out of her shoes, tights, belt, pants, hair ties/bows, and jewelry, replacing the bottoms with blue/red half "Property of the Joker" jogger pants, leaving her comfy shirt on. She spit out her gum in his trash can after wrapping a Kleenex over it, and stored her costume pieces in her bag, before she laid face-up on Chuckie's bed with the door now open.

"Hey Shenzi," Kimi peeked in, now wearing her pajamas, "Where's Chuckie at?"

"He's in the shower," She replied, "He's washing out the tattoo on his forehead, and the hair dye."

"Ah," Kimi nodded, "Well, congrats on winning that prize."

"Thanks, you too."

"Thanks. I'll be in the living room if you need me." With that, Kimi walked downstairs.

Shenzi sighed in relaxation as she rested her hands under her head. Chuckie had a very nice bedroom, in her eyes. She gazed around the room after sitting up as she waited for her boyfriend to come back in. She then stood on the floor, and watched what was going on outside the windows. All she saw was streetlights, some house lights, and the occasional pedestrian. Nothing new, really. She was so focused, for some reason, that she didn't notice someone entering the room.

Chuckie walked in the room, drying his long, now red hair with a towel before tossing it in the hamper. After entering his room, he smirked upon seeing his girlfriend, who didn't seem to notice his return. Being as quiet as he could, he tiptoed up behind her, then after wiggling his fingers teasingly, he quickly grabbed her bare sides. "Boo!"

"AAAH!" She screamed in surprise and ticklishness, then turned to see her laughing boyfriend. "Chuckie!" She couldn't help but giggle. "You almost gave me a heart attack! You jerk!" She playfully shoved him by his shoulder, making him laugh harder.

"I, I'm sorry Shen," He tried to calm down, as he wiped tears from his eyes, "I couldn't resist after seeing you by the window."

"It's okay," She giggled, "You're silly."

"Well, I try," He chuckled as they sat on his bed.

"Aww," She smiled up at him, and sidled up a bit, "There he is."

"Huh?"

She reached up, and gently played with his wet hair. "There's Chuckie. Your hair is all red again."

"Y-yep," He stammered timidly, and kissed her cheek, "Here's me."

She laid on his shoulder, and accidentally let out a yawn. "Eek!" She squeaked when Chuckie suddenly, but gently dug his fingers in her side under her shirt.

"You have to stay awake," He chuckled, "We haven't had dinner yet."

"Oh right," She giggled, "Sorry. Snuggling with you just makes me sleepy."

"Ah," He nodded, "So either we should stop, or I'll tickle you every time you yawn." He laughed when she scooted away a bit. "That's what I thought." He kissed the side of her head, making her blush. "Let's just hang out while we wait until dinner's ready."

"Okay," Shenzi nodded, "What's your mom making?"

"She said hamburgers," He replied, "She just got ingredients, so she decided to use them tonight."

"Ooh," She perked up a bit, "I love hamburgers."

"Then you're going to love my mom's," He said to her, "Kimi prefers veggie burgers, considering she's a vegeterian, but Mom's hamburgers are the best. Trust me."

"I trust you," She smiled up at him, and kissed his lips. This turned into a makeout session, as he laid on his back and she hovered above him. Her hands laid on his cheeks, as his explored her back. Feeling mischievous yet again, he briefly and light stroked her sides with his index fingers. "Mmph!" She pulled back with wide eyes and shoved his hands away. "Hehehe! Chuckie, stop it!"

"Okay, I'm sorry, I will," He chuckled, before lowering his voice volume, "I'll wait 'til after we eat."

"Huh?"

"Dinner time!" Kira's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Come on, Shen." After taking his girlfriend's hand, and washing up with her in the bathroom, he led her down the stairs and in the kitchen, where he sat next to her. "Mom, I uh, I told Shenzi that your hamburgers are great."

"Did you?" Kira smiled at her son. "Well, I'll let her be the judge of that."

The black-haired girl grabbed her burger, then took a bite filled with meat, ketchup, and mustard as she was watched in anticipation. After swallowing her bite, she spoke up. "This is awesome!" She took another big bite.

"I'm glad you like it, Shenzi," Kira said to her future daughter-in-law as the family continued eating. "You eat your pickles separately?" She asked her when Shenzi was doing just that.

"Y-yeah," She stammered after swallowing, "Is that fine?"

"It's fine with me," She assured her, "Eat it however you want."

"Thanks," She nodded, before eating another pickle slice. After they finished their burgers and French fries, the couple went back upstairs into Chuckie's bedroom to let their meals digest. "That was really good," Shenzi remarked after a few minutes passed.

"I told you," He smiled down at her, "Didn't I?"

"You did," She nodded, "And you were right." When he heard a growl of digestion, he playfully poked her tummy where her shirt bared it, making her squeak and giggle. "Chuckie!"

"I can't help it," He said to her, "You have such a cute laugh." He kissed her blushing cheek as she smiled up at him.

"Thanks, Chuck. You do too." She swiftly poked his ribs over his shirt, getting a snort and giggle out of him.

"Hey!" He laughed. "You punk!" He dug his fingers into her bare side, getting a shriek out of her.

"Gyaaa! Hehehe! Stop!" But he pinned her face-up, and sat on her legs. "Chuckie, get off of me!" He only responded with his fingers creeping up her shirt, and scratching at her sides. "Eek! Heheheheahahaha!" Stohohohop!" She thrashed and squirmed under his weight and tried to shield herself. When his hands traveled up and down her sides, occasionally attacking her ribs and tummy, she squealed and tried to shove his hands away. "Stohohohop ihihihit!"

"Sorry Shen," Chuckie shook his head, "But when you're wearing a small shirt like this one, you're just asking to be tickled."

He kept her shirt bunched up with his hands while gently squeezing and scratching her sides, before he suddenly blew a raspberry in her now-exposed belly button. She let out a scream for that attack, as she thrashed wildly, shoving his head away. Tears welled up in her eyes when he tickled her belly button with one hand, and alternated between her armpits over her shirt with the other. "St-stohohohop, pleheheheahahahase!" She squealed. "Ihehe cahahahan't breheheheahahathe!" To her relief, he stopped and shifted away, so she could pull her shirt back down and catch her breath. "You're..." She panted, "You're a jerk," She finished with a ticklish giggle.

"Yep," He chuckled, "And don't forget it." He poked her tummy where it was still bare, making her flinch, squeak and giggle.

"I love you, though," She sat up, and kissed his cheek.

"I love you too," He stroked her long, black hair, and rubbed his nose on hers.

"Um, how should we divide the prizes possession?" She asked him. "Like, who keeps the ribbon, and who gets the trophy?"

"Hmm..." He thought about it for a second, "You have hooks on your bedroom walls, don't you?"

"Yeah," She nodded.

"Okay so, how about this?: I'll keep the trophy here, while you take the ribbon home. Sound good?"

"That sounds perfect," She nodded, and hugged him while sitting on his lap, "Today was lots of fun."

"Yep," He agreed with her, "But other than entering with you, you know what I liked best?"

"What?"

"This." He lightly ran his index fingers down her sides, from her shirt to her pants.

"Eeek! Hehehehe!" She writhed and giggled. "Stop it!"

"Sorry," He chuckled, "I'll stop now, I promise." He kissed her nose, making her giggle some more. "I'll just do that if I want to hear you laugh."

"Okay," She nodded, and laid on his chest. She accidentally let out a yawn, then braced herself for a poke in her tummy, or his fingers sneaking in her sides again.

"Let's brush our teeth and hit the hay," Chuckie lifted her off his lap, and set her on her feet by the bed.

"'Kay," She nodded, "I'm still sleepy." She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, and brushed her teeth with her one and only in the bathroom. After a couple minutes, they finished, said goodnight to Kimi and their parents, and Chuckie closed the door as Shenzi re-entered his room. She sat on his bed, then practically fell face-up as she sighed in relaxation. He smiled in amusement as he turned the light off, letting the moonlight guide him, and laid next to her. "G'night Chuck," She mumbled in his chest after he held her closer in a loving embrace.

"G'night Shen," He kissed the top of her head, then gingerly took off her glasses and set them by his own on the night stand. With that, he drifted off to sleep with his one and only in his arms.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, there's S. You know the disclaimer.)**


	20. T: Tickles

**(A/N:**

* * *

 **T- Tickles**

Summary: Chuckie Finster loves everything about his girlfriend, Shenzi Tuck, from her beautiful appearance to her endearing personality. But there's also a third thing he loves about her: Her laugh. 

* * *

_Ding dong_

16-year-old Frankie Tuck jogged to the door upon hearing the doorbell ring, and answered to it. Standing just outside was 16-year-old Chuckie Finster. "You ready to beach it up?" He asked her.

"Yep," She nodded.

"Where's Shenzi at?" 16-year-old Shenzi Tuck was his girlfriend of 4 years, and was Frankie's younger stepsister.

"She's napping," Frankie replied.

"Still?" He chuckled. "I'll wake her up." After the blonde stepped aside, he walked in the house, up the stairs, and to his girlfriend's dark-themed bedroom. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Shenzi sleeping peacefully in her bed, clad in black and pink bow skully pajamas, consisting of boxer shorts and a tank top, with her black cat-eye prescription glasses on the pink cupcake table. Her long, black hair was spread out on the pillow, as her chest rose up and down at an even pace. Her left hand was on her stomach as the other was under her pillow and head. She looked like an angel. He carefully sat on the bed as she moaned sleepily, but didn't move otherwise, and watched her for a few seconds. He then smirked at what she did next, giving him an idea; She moved her left hand up, so a sliver of smooth, purplish-grey skin on her flat tummy was peeking out between her tank and shorts. First, he leaned in close to her peaceful face. "Shen," He whispered, but she didn't move. That confused him, considering she was a light sleeper. "She-e-e-en." He caressed her cheek and kissed her nose, but still nothing. She was in really deep. Now smirking devilishly, he stuck out his index finger and hovered it just barely above her tummy, where it was revealed. "Last chance, Shen." She didn't move. "Okay then." With that, Chuckie moved his finger down, and lightly stroked her soft skin with his nail.

"Eek! Eehehehehehe!" She squeaked and burst into a fit of giggles as she started squirming. "St-stohohohohop!" When he pulled his hand away, she sat up and opened her eyes. "Oh, h-hi Chuckie. I had a feeling it was you." She kissed his cheek. "What's up?"

"Well, we're just about to head for the beach," He replied, gesturing to the door.

Her eyes widened in shock. "Oh! Oh man, I forgot! I'm sorry! Um, g-give me a few minutes to get ready!"

"Okay," He nodded, "I'll meet you outside." He then ran out of the room, gingerly closing the door behind him, and outside to 17-year-old Susie Carmichael and Angelica Pickles' convertibles. Susie's was purple with rainbow zebra seats, while Angelica's was red with leopard seats. "I just got her up. She'll be ready in a few minutes."

In her room, after brushing her teeth, Shenzi hastily changed into purple and orange sunset dolphin shorts with black palm trees and skulls over plain black swim bottoms, a black tiered triangle bikini top, a pair of black Converse low-tops, an orange extension in her long bangs, full-head extensions that faded from purple to blue, black rose earrings, and a black v-neck camisole that stopped just below her belly button. After grabbing her black and white striped beach bag, which already carried her black Moon Phases towel, sunblock, and wallet, she dashed downstairs, said goodbye to her parents, then joined her friends and stepsister outside. "Sorry I'm late!" She practically leapt in Susie's convertible next to Chuckie, and the drivers hastily started heading for their destination. "Sorry guys, I slept in by accident."

"It's okay," Susie assured her, "We didn't have a specific leaving time anyway."

"You look great, Shen," Chuckie complimented his girlfriend, "Like you're really ready for the beach."

"Thanks," She giggled with a shy blush, before a yawn escaped.

"You can sleep on the way if you're still tired," Chuckie offered, "I'll wake you up when we get there."

"Thanks Chuck," She laid on his shoulder, and drifted off to sleep. He smiled as he held her closer, and rested his head on hers.

"Is she asleep?" Susie asked him quietly after peeking in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah," He replied quietly, "She always sleeps in during the summer season."

"Ah," She nodded, "So does Angelica, but she's worse." As they quietly conversed, along with Frankie and Kimi, Shenzi stayed asleep.

In Angelica's convertible, 16-year-old Phil Deville was sitting shotgun while his twin sister, Lil was with 15-year-old Tommy Pickles, and his younger brother, 14-year-old Dil. "I hope we don't get there too late," Lil remarked.

"We'll be fine," Tommy assured her, "We didn't really have a leaving time anyway, and Shenzi didn't mean to sleep in this much. We don't be too late."

A while later, the two drivers parked in the parking lot for the beach. "We're here!" Susie announced as she turned off her car.

"I'll get Shenzi up," Chuckie said; He sneaked one hand on her side, and slowly curled his fingers in and out, brushing skin and fabric with his fingernails.

"Eheheheheahaha!" She burst out giggling. "Chuhuckiehehehehe!"

He stopped after a couple seconds and undid his seat belt. "We're at the beach, Shen."

"Oh!" She perked up. "Yay!" She quickly unbuckled herself, then jumped out of the car with her bag on one hand. After everyone was ready, the group walked on the sand, searching for a good spot to set up. They even rented an awning along the way for shade from the sun. Once they found a good spot, they laid their towels on the sand, and relaxed. Shenzi laid on Chuckie's shoulder after laying her towel next to his, so they were almost overlapping. They sat together as Angelica was getting a tan from the sun, and the rest of their friends played in the sand and/or water.

"Um, Sh-Shen?" Chuckie stammered, and she looked up at him. "I, I'm going to play with our friends."

"Okay," She nodded, "Have fun. I might join you guys later. I'm going to rest for now."

"Still?" He chuckled. "You slept in earlier this morning, and on the way here."

"I know," She giggled, "I'm just still tired. I might join you guys later, though."

"Alright," He nodded, and kissed her cheek, "Have a good rest."

"Thanks." She then laid on her back, with her hands under her head, and stared at the fabric on the awning, using her bag as a pillow. She also took an inflatable inner tube from her bag in case her friends wanted to use it.

Chuckie walked up to their friends after watching his girlfriend for a second. "Shenzi's resting," He told them.

"Still?" Frankie giggled. "She slept on the way here."

"That's what I said," He shrugged, "But she might join us in a few minutes."

"I wonder why she brought an inner tube," Lil remarked, "It'd be hard to use them in the water."

"Hmm..." A devious grin formed on Frankie's face, "I got an idea." She sneaked over to her sister, swiftly grabbed the inner tube, and ran back to the others. "Who has an air pump?" After Phil gave it to her, she started inflating the inner tube until it was full, then plugged the hole. "There we go."

"What's your plan?" Kimi asked her.

"We're going to hold her arms up with the inner tube," Frankie began explaining, "And then... we'll tickle the heck out of her!"

The others stifled laughter. "That's awesome," Kimi giggled.

"Come on," Chuckie couldn't help but chuckle, "Just let her rest."

"We will!" Frankie insisted. "After we have some fun with her. You in, Chuck?"

He had to think about that. He wanted to let her rest, but then again, tickling her was lots of fun. She had such a cute laugh, and looked adorable when doing it too. "Okay, I'm in."

"Awesome," She smiled in joy, "I'll set it up real quick." Now tiptoeing, she sneaked to her stepsister with the inner tube, then being as careful as possible, she held her arms up and trapped them in the rubber pool float, just under her elbows, so she couldn't escape without help. Shenzi stirred and moaned a bit, but stayed asleep otherwise. Her tank top was ridden up a bit, so her belly button was halfway revealed. "Okay guys, she's ready," She whispered to the others after tiptoeing back to them, "Let's get started." The gang gathered around the sleeping girl, trying to stay quiet. Chuckie sat by her right side, marveling at how peaceful she looked, despite the situation she was in. May as well enjoy it while you can, right? "Chuckie, can you wake her up?" Frankie requested.

"Okay," He nodded, and tried to think of a good way to wake up his girlfriend. Finally, he lowered one hand to where her flat tummy was revealed, which was quite a bit, and started gently scratching her soft skin.

"Ehehehehehe!" She burst into a fit of giggles. "Ch-Chuckiehehehehe!" How'd she know it was him? Her eyes flew open as she realized just what she was now into as he drew his hand away. "What the-? Hey, guys! My arms are stuck!"

"That's the point," Frankie snickered, "I did it while you slept."

"Let me out!" She tried to pull her arms down.

"We will," Frankie nodded, "After we have some fun," She finished with an evil smile.

"N-no! No! Don't tickle me! Don't you dare!" She thrashed and squirmed in her bonds. "Let me go!" Kimi sat on her legs, so she couldn't kick them. "Leave me alone!"

"Nope!" Frankie cheerfully refused, before she made the first move. She tickled her stepsister's ribs over her shirt with her long nails.

"Eehehehehehe!" Shenzi burst into giggles. "St-stohohop ihihihit!" Her eyes squeezed shut and she started squirming when Kimi wiggled her fingers around her sides.

"Sorry Shen," Chuckie said to her, before he started tickling her right armpit, and her belly button. Shenzi let out a squeak, before her giggles turned into laughter.

"Guhuhuhuys, stohohohop!" Chuckie couldn't help but smile at her cute laugh. Frankie moved one hand to tickle her left armpit, while leaving the other on her ribs, as Lil attacked her tummy. Shenzi's cheeks started blushing a bit as she thrashed and squirmed under her bonds. Chuckie moved his one hand from her armpit to her neck, making her shoulders shrug up to her cheeks. "Iehehehe'm seheheriohohohuhus! Stohohohop, guhuhuhuys! Iehehehe cahahahan't b-breheheheahahathe!"

"Guys, we should stop," Chuckie stepped back, and carefully pulled the inner tube up, so her arms were free, as the girls backed off.

Shenzi panted as she shielded herself. "That... was n-not funny," She panted.

"Then why were you laughing?" Frankie giggled.

"'Cause I...!"

"It's okay sis, I was kidding," Frankie assured her, "Um, s-sorry."

"It's alright," She shrugged.

"You want to play in the water with us?" Kimi asked her.

"Not right now," Shenzi shook her head, "I'm tired at the moment. I'll just sit here."

"I'll stay with you," Chuckie offered, "I-if you want."

"Thanks Chuck," She smiled up at him.

"We'll be at the water if you need us," Frankie told them, and led Lil and Kimi back to the ocean.

Shenzi laid on Chuckie's shoulder as they watched their friends play in the waves washing up. "Shen, I, I'm sorry about tickling you like that."

"It's okay, I'm not mad," She shrugged.

"You aren't?"

"Nope," She shook her head, "Although..." Without warning, she suddenly pushed him down and pinned him on his back.

"Oof! Hey!" He exclaimed in surprise. "You said you wouldn't do this!"

"Say what?" She giggled. "I did not! I just said I wasn't mad. I didn't say anything about revenge," She smiled evilly, making him nervous, before she shot her hands up his shirt and tickled his sides.

"Aack! Hehehehey!" He burst out laughing, and squirmed as his girlfriend sat on his legs. "Stohohohop ihihihit!"

"Now you know how I felt, Finster!" She giggled and moved her hands up in his armpits.

"Gyaahahahahaha! Not thehehere! Stohohohop!"

Finding strength, he moved his hands up and tickled Shenzi's sides. "Eek! Heheheheahahaha!" She laughed and tried to hug herself for protection. She squealed and fell on her back when Chuckie gently squeezed her hips. "Chuckie, stohop! Hehehehehe!" Her arms shot up and tickled his sides again, close to his back.

"Heheheahahaha!" Chuckie laughed hard. A tickle fight continued between them as they rolled off their towels and on the sand.

When she tried to run away from him, he lifted her up with one arm like she was a baby, so she would have to hold onto him for support, and tickled all over her flat tummy. "Eeheheheheahahaha!" She squirmed and kicked her legs as Chuckie bunched her shirt up. "Stohohohohop!" A squeal escaped her mouth when he tickled her belly button and her left hip with both hands. "Chuckiehehehe, stohohohop ihihihit!" She punched his chest, but he stayed strong. Her laughter raised up in pitch when he tickled up and down her side, his fingers touching skin and fabric. Tears welled up and her cheeks blushed red as she tried even harder to escape. When he focused on where her waist curved in, creeping his fingers under her shirt, she started squirming so harshly, he was having trouble holding onto her. He sat in the sand cross-legged as he continued his tickle attack on his adorable girlfriend. He knew she wanted to rest, but she just looked so cute when she laughed and squirmed. "Chuhuhuckiehehehe, stohohohop!" She squealed as tears fell. "Ihehehehe cahahahan't breheheheahahathe! I'm g-going toho p-pehehee mysehehehehelf!"

"Oh!" Chuckie quickly stopped and gently set her face-up on her back as she panted and giggled. "S-sorry, Shen. I'll take you to the restrooms." After she stashed her wallet carefully in one pocket, he led her to the bathrooms, where he waited for her to freshen up. ' _I guess I went too far in the fun,_ ' He thought to himself, ' _But it's not my fault she looks adorable when she laughs! I can't help it!_ ' He flinched and yelped when thin fingers gently squeezed his sides. He chuckled when he saw who the culprit was. "Okay, I deserved that."

"Yep," Shenzi agreed with a giggle, "Um, while we're out here, can we see what the shops have? I brought my wallet just in case."

"Sure," He shrugged, "Why not?" After sending Kimi a text message, telling her what they had planned so their friends wouldn't worry, he took Shenzi's hand and walked to the shopping area with her. He marveled at how she admired anything the stores had to offer like they were zoo animals, except monkeys, because she had a 14-year-long phobia. She picked out a souvenir t-shirt, hoodie, and necklace, while he simply went with a t-shirt. Chuckie had to shoo away pesky boys who had the nerve to hit on his girl. After they were done, they headed back to the beach, where their friends were waiting for them.

"You guys have fun?" Kimi asked them.

"Yep," Shenzi nodded.

"We're going to head over there," Kimi told them, gesturing to Lil, Frankie, Susie, and Angelica, "We'll be back momentarily. Later." With that, the five girls headed for the shops, with their wallets in hand.

The couple sat together as they watched Tommy, Phil, and Dil play in the water, after stashing their souvenirs in their bags. "Hey, guys!" Dil ran up to them, with Phil and Tommy following. "Where'd you go?"

"We did a little shopping after I used the bathroom," Shenzi explained.

"Well, once you guys are rested up, you want to join us?" Phil asked them.

"Sure," Chuckie accepted the offer, along with his girlfriend, "We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay," Tommy nodded, and ran back to the water with Phil and Dil.

"Today was fun," Shenzi remarked, with her head on Chuckie's shoulders.

"I'm glad you liked it," He smiled down at her, "But you liked the whole day? Even the tickling parts?"

She let out a giggle. "Well, other than those factors, this was a fun day."

"I'm glad you think so," He kissed the top of her head, "Um, y-you want to go play in the ocean, or stay here for a bit longer?"

"Mm... I'm pretty comfy here," She shrugged, "We'll go in a few."

"Anything for you," He held her closer by her shoulders, and laid his head on hers. They watched their guy friends have a blast in the cold, salty water as the couple relished the shade provided by the awning.

After a few minutes, Shenzi spoke up. "Hey, Chuckie?" He looked down at her. "You ready to get wet?"

He smiled at her. "Yep." He took off his shirt, and couldn't look away as Shenzi took off her shorts and tank top, revealing her bikini to him.

"Come on!" After grabbing his hand, she practically dragged him to the waves, joining their friends. She tackled her boyfriend in the sand multiple times and vice versa, so they were soaked almost immediately, with sand in their hair. The rest of the girls came back after a while, and joined them in the cold water after stripping out of their day clothes. When it started getting late, they washed up in the showers and headed back to the convertibles. "Today was fun, Chuckie."

"Yep," He nodded in agreement. The couple sat back in Susie's convertible, and after everyone was buckled in, they started heading for home. Shenzi let out a yawn as she laid on Chuckie's shoulder. "You go ahead and rest," He held her closer, "We've all had a long day."

"Thanks Chuck," She mumbled sleepily, before drifting off peacefully. He kissed her soft, dark hair and laid his head on hers. She laid a small hand on his chest, and snuggled in his neck and shoulder. He was feeling a bit drowsy himself, so he drifted off to sleep after laying his free hand on his girlfriend's back, so she was in a full embrace.

"They're asleep," Frankie whispered to Susie and Kimi. The two girls looked back, and smiled at the peaceful couple.

"They make such an adorable couple," Kimi quietly remarked, "They're going to get married someday, I just know it."

"I do too," Frankie agreed, while keeping her voice down.

When Susie stopped at the Finster house, Kimi hopped out of the vehicle as Frankie turned to the couple. She gently nudged Chuckie, making both him and Shenzi wake up. "We're at your house, Chuck."

"O-oh," He rubbed his eyes under his glasses, and unbuckled himself, "I, I'll see you later, Shen." He kissed her lips for a second, then jumped out of the car. "Um, if you want, I can sleep over tonight, so long as our parents allow it."

"I'd love that," She smiled up at him, "I'll ask my parents, then call you."

"Alright," He nodded, "I'll see you tonight... possibly."

She giggled as he followed Kimi in the house. Susie then drove to the Tuck house, where the two sisters exited the car, thanked her for driving them, and entered their house.

* * *

Later that night, Shenzi and Chuckie were snuggling on her bed in their pjs, hers consisting of blush pink tap shorts and a matching camisole both with an Alice in Wonderland print, after having dinner, which was spaghetti, with her parents and stepsister. Chuckie's hands were clasped together in Shenzi's lap as she cuddled in his neck. "That dinner was really good," Chuckie remarked, "Your mom really has a gift."

"Yeah she does," Shenzi nodded in agreement.

"What's your favorite homemade meal?"

"Hmm... I think that would be mashed potatoes with shredded cheese sprinkled on it," She replied, "According to Dad, it was the first solid food I've ever eaten, so it's kind of special. Plus, it's amazing."

"Ah," He nodded, "That does sound good."

"It is; Maybe you can try it sometime."

"I hope so."

"Me too."

They were silent for a few seconds, before Chuckie spoke up. "So, um... what was your favorite part about today?"

"Mm..." She thought about it, "Shopping with you."

"Yeah, 'cause all girls love shopping," He playfully teased her.

"No!" She giggled. "The best part was being with you."

"I know, I was kidding," He chuckled, and kissed her cheek, "You ever going to start making meals? Frankie started doing that months ago."

"I'll get to it," She replied with a raised eyebrow.

"You said that weeks ago," He teased her with a poke to her side, which was slightly bared by her pjs, along with a strip of her tummy.

"Eek!" She flinched and giggled. "Chuckie, stop! I'm all tickled out!"

"Okay, I'm sorry," He chuckled, "I'll stop now, I promise." He held her closer with his arms on her chest and shoulders. "I just love hearing you laugh."

"Thanks Chuck, but what's wrong with telling me a joke?"

"It's not as fun," He shrugged.

"Ah." She blushed when he rested his chin on her shoulder, with his head laying against hers. She smiled and sidled up a bit. "I love you, Chuckie."

"I love you too, Shenzi." He kissed the back of her head, then laid back on her shoulder as she rested against his chest. After a while, the couple decided to go to bed for the night. They brushed their teeth together in the bathroom, said goodnight to her family, then laid back in her bed. "G'night Shen," He kissed her lips for a second.

"G'night Chuck," She stroked his long, red hair as she snuggled in his chest and neck. After taking off their glasses, they fell into a peaceful sleep in each others' arms.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, there's T. You know the disclaimer.)**


	21. U: Under Shenzi's Bed

**(A/N: Sorry I took so long with this one. I don't have that much experience in writing the Rugrats as, well... Rugrats. XD But anyway, enjoy! It's based off the Rugrats episode "Under Chuckie's Bed"; celrock gave me the idea for this one. Thanks, celrock!)**

* * *

 **U- Under Shenzi's Bed**

Summary: Two-year-old Shenzi Tuck moves from her beloved crib to a "big girl bed", and is not happy about it, especially after history repeats itself with Angelica claiming that there are monsters under the bed. Shenzi's best friend, two-year-old Chuckie Finster, who has had experience with this situation, tries to help ease her into it.

* * *

On a nice, sunny day, two-year-old Shenzi Tuck was napping peacefully in her crib, wearing her pjs. It had pink sheets with a black and white polka dot cuddly blanket, and matched her whole room. The walls were ivory, decorated with black and white polka dot hearts that had pink lace trimming the edges and matched the hooks. There was also a changing pad cover, as she was in the middle of potty training, crib rail guard covers draped over the sides, curtains on the window, a clothes hamper, a crib skirt, a small toy sack on the wall, a rug, a memo board on the wall, a wallpaper border, and extra blankets and pillows. Hanging above the crib was a mobile with hearts. All of these had black and white polka dots, with some pink. Plus a pink carpet softened the floor to ensure the child's safety. Inside the crib, a couple of Shenzi's toys were laid out around her; A zebra-striped cute octopus with a brown mustache, and a matching labbit. Black and white polka dot (with hints of pink) heart stickers decorated the headboards.

The toddler's large eyes blinked open as she yawned and shifted herself to lay on her back. Her long, black hair spread out on the pillow as she gazed at the mobile and the white ceiling. "I have the bestest room in the whole wide world," She said to herself, "The heartsies, the soft floor, my toys, my crib! It doesn't get better than this!"

Her heart leapt with joy when she saw her father, Friar Tuck come in the room. She sat up with her arms for support as he walked up to her. "I'm glad to see you're awake, sweetheart." He took her out of her crib, and set her on the floor, so she was sitting up. "You're going to get a very big surprise today!" She giggled with excitement as he got her dressed for the day. After she was ready, he carried her into the living room, where one-year-old Tommy Pickles, one and three fourths-year-old twins Phil and Lil DeVille, and her best friend, two-year-old Chuckie Finster, were gathered in the colorfully-fenced playpen. "Look Shenzi, your friends have come to visit you!" He set her in the playpen. "Why don't you play with them, while I set up that surprise I told you about?"

As he talked with Tommy and the twins' mothers, Didi Pickles and Betty DeVille, and Chuckie's father, Chaz Finster, Shenzi yawned and laid on the floor with a pillow under her head. "What's the matter with Shenzi?" Phil wondered aloud.

"Yeah, I never seed her so happy," Lil added.

"Maybe she's sick," Phil guessed.

"Maybe she's sleepy," Tommy added in his two cents.

"Maybe she just eated a bad crayon," Lil guessed.

"No, I know what she's happy about," Chuckie chimed in.

"I just waked up from my favoritest place in the whole world," Shenzi stood up, "My crib! It's the bestest crib ever! It's where I talk to my toys before I nap, it's where I dream my little dreams, and it's where I lay in and make noises until my daddy comes in!" For the last one, she laid face-up on the pillow, before she relaxed her arms and legs with a sigh of serenity. "Ah, my crib. I dunno what I'd do without it!" If only she knew what was going on in her room just at that moment. "When I'm in my crib, everything's beautiful!" Shenzi reminisced to her friends. "Behind those walls, I'm safe and sound! The world is my toaster!" Her friends noticed the adults carrying crib pieces out of her room behind her.

' _Uh oh! Not again!_ ' Chuckie thought to himself, before speaking up. "Uh, Shenzi? Does your crib have brown bars on it?"

"And the tall sides?" Phil added.

"And the heartsies?" Lil finished.

"Uh huh," Shenzi nodded, "That's it. Why?"

"I think the grown-ups just carried it out of your room in pieces," Tommy pointed out.

"WHAT?!" Her eyes widened in horror; She hastily jumped out of the playpen and ran down the hall, with Chuckie and their friends following. "No one took my crib anywhere! Why would someone take it?!" She yelled in denial. "You'll see! It'll be right where it's always been! All comfy, and cozy, and...!" She stopped at the doorway, with Chuckie next to her, when she saw that her beloved crib was gone; And a bed with similar sheets and covers was in its place. " **AAAAAAAAHHH!** " She screamed as loud as she could, before she started crying, gaining the adults' attention.

"Well, looks like the Shenster found her surprise!" Betty remarked to Didi over the toddler's loud fussing, as Friar Tuck came to his young daughter's aid.

"It's happening again," Chuckie said to himself, although he was drowned out.

* * *

That night, Shenzi stayed awake after getting tucked into her new bed. "I can't believe they want me to sleep in this thing!" She exclaimed to herself. "There's no walls, or sides neither!" She knelt down on her hands and knees, and crawled to the foot of the bed, which seemed to get further and further away as she crawled further, and stood up. But when she heard a mysterious growl, she gasped and fell on her backside on the covers. "What was that? Is someone there?- Nah, there can't be," She decided, "Things don't live under beds. There is nothing down there!" She then laid back down. "Nothing, at all." She pulled the covers up to her shoulders and her eyes closed.

"Hiya, Shenzi!" She heard a deep voice address her from under the bed.

" **AAAAAAAAHHHH!** " She shot up as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Shenzi! Shenzi! What's wrong?!" Friar Tuck rushed in the room, where he saw her flailing on the bed, with tears falling down her cheeks. "It's okay, Shenzi! It's okay! Don't be scared!" He sat on the bed, and hugged her in an attempt to comfort her, and set her on his lap. "It's just a bed! A big girl's bed, because you're becoming a big girl! It's exactly the same as your old crib; But it doesn't have any sides, that's all! Okay?" She was able to calm down, as he set her back on the bed; She laid back down, and pulled the covers back up to her shoulders. He went to walk out of the room, but stopped at the doorway and turned to her. "Goodnight, Shenzi." He blew a kiss to her, before he closed the door.

Shenzi sighed quietly as she sat up. "My, my daddy's right," She said to herself, "There's nothin' scary under the bed; I mean, what could possibly be living down there? Unless it's an elephant," She wondered aloud, "Or a troll," She started feeling nervous as she stood up, "Or a monster!"

"Nope!" She gasped at the deep voice. "It's me, Shenzi! The monster living under your bed!"

"But, but my daddy said there's nothing scary about this bed!" She protested.

"Hah, right! What does he know? He doesn't have to sleep in this bed! Now, why don't you come down here? I've got candy."

"No way!" She boldly refused. "You're a scary monster! You'll eat me!"

"Eat you? Me? Why would I do a terrible thing like that?" The monster asked her, before chuckling evilly.

Shenzi gulped and stuck her index fingers in her ears. "I'm not listening to you, you monster! You're not real! I'm just imagining, that's all! There's no such thing as monsters!" She started telling herself, as she went to look under the bed. "There's no such thing as monsters! There's no such thing as monsters! There's no such thing as..." When she peeked under the foot of the bed, she saw a small, but menacing-looking monster down there! "AAH!" She shot back up in fear.

* * *

The next day, the toddling friends were all at Chuckie's house, playing outside. "So uh, how's the new bed working out, Shenzi?" Chuckie asked her.

"Oh, it's horrible! Just horrible!" She replied fearfully. "It's big, it gots no sides, and... ugh, you wouldn't believe me!" She hid her face behind her arms and knees.

"Sure we would," Tommy assured her.

"We'll believe you," Chuckie added, although he had a feeling that he knew what she was going to say.

"There's a scary monster living under my bed!" She exclaimed in fear. The twins and Tommy gasped in shock.

"Shenzi, that's not true!" Chuckie tried to assure her.

"Yes it is!" She insisted. "It is! I seed it with my own two eyes! It was big, and scary, and tried to grab me!"

"Shenzi, that's not where monsters live," Phil told her.

"Yeah! They live in caves, and swamps, and stuff like that," Lil added.

"And under beds is not in those places," Chuckie finished.

"Oh brother!" Three-year-old Angelica Pickles, Tommy's cousin, walked up to them. "Shenzi, don't let those dummies lie to you! Of course monsters live under beds."

"That's not true!" Chuckie glared. "There wasn't one under my bed, and there isn't one under hers!"

"Under beds is their favoritest place in the whole world," Angelica ignored him.

"I knew it!" Shenzi exclaimed. "I'm in trouble now!"

"That's a lie, Angelica! Monsters don't live under beds!" Tommy insisted.

"That's what poor little Barnaby Jones thought," Angelica remarked.

"Who's that?" Shenzi asked her.

"This little boy who got eaten by a monster under his bed," Chuckie replied as Angelica told the story, "But it's not true!"

"And they never saw little Barnaby Jones again," The blonde finished the tale, "So remember, there's only one place you can hide: Under the covers. And sometimes, the monsters will still get you." Shenzi gasped, then fell on her back in fear. "Shenzi's gonna get eated!" Angelica started singing mockingly. "Eated! Eated! Shenzi's gonna get eated, by the monster under her bed!" She finished, and left them be.

"Don't listen to her, Shenzi," Chuckie told the slightly younger girl.

"Yeah, she's a terrible singer," Lil added.

"I'm doomed," The black-haired toddler hid her face again.

"No, Shenzi! I won't let Angelica's lies scare you!" Chuckie protested with determination. "And you know why? 'Cause there are no monsters under your bed!" Just then, he heard something from his and Shenzi's fathers that initially made him nervous, but then determined; He was going to sleep over at her house, to help her sleep better in her new bed. He yearned to help his friend like how Tommy helped him. She was a lot like him (Chuckie, not Tommy), so it had to work. It just had to!

* * *

That night, the two toddlers were tucked into the bed, clad in their pajamas, with Shenzi at the left side, and Chuckie at the right. She was in a pink Minnie Mouse polka dot nightgown with matching striped softee socks, while Chuckie was in his regular blue pjs. "Goodnight Shenzi, goodnight Chuckie," Friar Tuck said to them, before he closed the door and left them alone.

They stayed quiet for a couple seconds, before Chuckie spoke up. "See, Shenzi? This isn't so bad."

"Y-yeah, I suppose." "I told you there are no monsters."

"Yeah, maybe you were..." Shenzi began to agree with him, but was cut off.

"Wrongarooni!" The monster's voice interrupted her.

" **AAAAAAHHH!** " She screamed and jumped almost a yard in the air, landing on Chuckie's waist. "Did you hear that?!"

"Hear what?" Chuckie asked her, feeling a bit stunned.

"Hear me, girly girl!"

" _AAAHH!_ Angelica was right! There really is monsters under my bed!" She pulled the covers over her head, so she was completely concealed.

"Shenzi, what's wrong?" Chuckie asked her. "Come on out!"

"No, Chuckie! You heard Angelica! This is the only place I'm safe!" The redhead tried to pull the covers off of Shenzi, but she pushed him away. "Stop it!"

"Shenzi, listen to me! You have to come out from under those covers!"

"Why should I?"

"'Cause monsters aren't real! You've gotta look under your bed, and tell yourself that!"

"What for?" She finally unveiled herself.

"'Cause if you don't, you'll be scared forever and ever!"

"Is that bad?"

"Shenzi, you're gonna go down there, look that monster in the eye, and prove he isn't real!" Chuckie pulled her up on her feet. "You're gonna stand up, and say "I'm Shenzi Callie Tuck, and I'm not ascared!""

The black-haired girl filled up with determination. "You're right, Chuckie! I can't be scared of no monsters, no matter how big they are!"

"Right!"

"No matter how ugly they are!"

"Right!"

"No matter how long and sharp their teeth and claws are!"

"Uh, right."

"There's only one thing I want to ask you!"

"What is it?"

Shenzi dove down, and hugged his legs fearfully. "Please come with me, Chuckie. Please, please, please! Don't make me go alone!"

"I'll come with you, Shenzi! And then you'll see once and for all!" He stood her on her feet. "There's no such things as monsters!" The two toddlers stood at the foot of the bed. "I'll go first."

"Yeah, g-good call." Chuckie jumped down on the floor, and Shenzi followed.

"Okay, look under the bed."

"Y-you first."

"But you're the one who's scared."

"No, no, you're the guest," She insisted.

"Alright, we'll look together, on the count of three."

"Okay," She agreed, and they grabbed the bed skirt.

"One..."

"Two..."

Shenzi hesitated with fear. "... Th-three!" They then pulled the bed skirt up, but were looking away. "Nothing there, right?"

"Right." They looked with caution, but under her bed, they saw the monster!

" **AAAAAAAAHHHH!** " They screamed simultaneously.

"Hey! What's going on in here?!" The toddlers stood up as the door was opened and the light was turned on. Friar Tuck came running in the room, alarmed by the kids' screams. "Shenzi, Chuckie! What are you two doing down he... wait." He pulled something out from under the bed. "Hey! Shenzi, it's your old sweater! I wondered where this thing went. I must've left it down there when we put the bed together. Is this what scared you?" She responded with a timid, slightly embarrassed expression. "I know it's scary moving out of your crib, but you'll be alright." He set the toddlers back in the bed, and laid her sweater in front of them. "There's nothing scary under there. G'night kids, sweet dreams." He then left them be after turning off the light and closing the door.

"You see, Shenzi? You had nothing to be scared of," Chuckie said to her.

"Yeah, you was right," She nodded, "This bed isn't so bad. I actually kind of like it! Y'know, I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship." She then let out a yawn. "Well, 'night Chuckie." The toddlers laid back down under the covers.

"'Night Shenzi."

But when the black-haired girl shifted to the side, she fell on the floor! "Oomph!" Chuckie quickly crawled up to check on her. "Well, maybe there's still a couple of problems." He grabbed her hands and helped her back up on the bed. "Owie," She rubbed the back of her head. "What do I do? What if I cutted myself again? I can't go through that again! Should I cry for my daddy?"

"Let me see it," Chuckie offered, and she turned to face away from him. He brushed her hair away from where she hit her head as much as he could, and took a peek. "Hmm, it just looks a bit red. I'll turn on the light." He crawled to her lamp and switched it on after figuring out how, and crawled back to her. "Y-yeah, it's just a little red. No biggie." He then kissed the red spot on her head, knowing that it would help it heal.

"Th-thanks Chuckie," She blushed, and crawled back to her spot on the bed, now staying closer to the middle. "G'night."

"'Night, Shenzi." With that, the two friends drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **(A/N: Finally, U is done! You know the disclaimer. Originally, I was going to have Shenzi shown as a teen at the end, but didn't know how to put it in properly, so I scrapped the idea. So, this is the only one of the oneshots that doesn't show her and Chuckie as pre-teens and/or beyond.)**


	22. V: Valentine

**(A/N: Sorry I took so long with this one. My writer's block was pretty bad, not to mention irritating. Well, happy early Valentine's Day! Hope you enjoy V.)**

* * *

 **V- Valentine**

Summary: The Valentine's Day Dance is coming soon at Jim Jr. Junior High School. Shenzi Tuck yearns to ask her crush, Chuckie Finster, to be her date, but she realizes that he likes someone else. Who will she end up asking? 

* * *

11-year-old Shenzi Tuck walked down the halls, already dressed for the upcoming holiday, Valentine's Day. She was wearing a baggy black sweatshirt with a large, light pink heart on the front, a black high-waisted skirt with two furry hearts on the front, black knee-high socks with three light pink stripes at the top, and a light pink heart, slip-on shoes with black, white, and light pink hearts all over the top, black heart earrings, and a light pink extension in her long bangs, which draped over the left side of her face, including her thick, black eyeglasses. Her sweatshirt unveiled her left shoulder, so the left strap of her black training bra was showing, but she paid no mind to it.

"Hey, Shenzi!" She looked up, and saw her slightly older sister, 11-year-old Frankie Tuck waving to her. "Come check this out!" She ran up to her, and saw a poster for an upcoming Valentine's Dance at the school. "Who are you going to ask?"

"Uh, I-I dunno," She lied nervously.

"Like Chuckie for instance?" Frankie smiled cheekily. 11-year-old Chuckie Finster was Shenzi's best friend, ever since she started attending the same preschool as him. In the 4th grade, she started developing a crush on him, and it was still lingering. She tried to keep it a secret, but it was all too obvious to their friends.

"Pfft, n-no!" She scoffed. "I d-don't know who I want to ask."

"Whatever you say," Frankie shrugged, "I don't know who to ask either." As she and her stepsister headed to the cafeteria, she smirked. ' _She doesn't know who to ask, hah! As if! She definitely wants to ask Chuckie! I know it! If she does, I hope he says yes. They make an adorable couple!_ ' After they got their lunch, Frankie was surprised when Shenzi headed for the table behind Chuckie, and 10-year-old Tommy Pickles, but didn't question it.

A few seconds after sitting down and eating, they heard Chuckie talking quietly to Tommy. "Don't get mad, but... I'm thinking of asking Nicole to the dance."

Shenzi almost choked on her spaghetti noodles after hearing that, but staying quiet, as her heart crashed down. "Ohhh," Frankie whispered with sympathy. Almost as if she read Shenzi's mind, she stood up and switched seats with her. The black-haired girl stayed silent as she scooped noodles in her mouth, trying to hide the tears in her eyes, but Frankie could clearly see that her stepsister was crushed. "Um, tha-that's okay; You can ask someone else. I know you wanted to ask Chuckie." She kept her voice volume low.

"N-no I didn't."

"Oh, come on! The entire school knows that you have a thing for Chuckie!"

"I don't!"

"Yes you do! You have since preschool, and you still do! Even the teachers know! The only one who doesn't know is Chuckie, because whoever hints it to him doesn't use your name. But... who says he's the only one you could go out with?"

"But... I don't like anyone else here," Shenzi said quietly.

"Well, we can grab a friend and go as a group," Frankie suggested, "Or it can be just us two."

"Okay," Shenzi agreed. "But if somehow, by some coincidence, Chuckie is suddenly dateless, you can ask him."

"Thanks, Frankie."

"No prob."

* * *

Later, the two girls were in the outdoor cafeteria, just hanging out before their next class should start. They then saw Nicole sitting at a table alone, minding her own business, then saw Tommy and Chuckie standing a distance away from her. As Chuckie seemed to check himself for his asking the brown-haired girl out, Shenzi's heart broke. Nicole was clearly prettier than her, and Chuckie deserved that. She'll never be good enough for him.

And Frankie was right; She _does_ have a crush on him. A big one, but never told him. For one thing, they had an amazing friendship, and she didn't want it ruined.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard something from Nicole that really surprised her and Frankie: "Tommy Pickles! You are the cutest boy in school!" Say what? What about Chuckie?

"Okay, that's a problem," They heard the redhead say to himself.

Shenzi could've sworn she briefly heard someone say "Dang!" But dismissed it. He probably dropped something.

Later on, she hid at the lockers, trying to listen in on Tommy and Chuckie's conversation. She hated eavesdropping, but she had to know why Nicole was suddenly head over heels for Tommy. "I know she likes you way more than she likes me," The purple-haired boy told Chuckie.

"Really? You think?" He sounded eager at that; That hurt Shenzi's heart.

"I've been looking for you," She heard a girl's voice, one she didn't recognize, and assumed it was Nicole. Even her _voice_ sounded better than hers.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Tommy opened the card Nicole gave him, and it showed Mexican men dancing to themed music with a small sign that read "Be Mine!" on it. "Thanks. And it isn't even Valentine's Day. Except in Mexico, I guess."

"I give the really special ones early," She heard Nicole say. Ouch; That had to hurt for Chuckie. "Oh, hi Chuckie." Double ouch. She then heard footsteps walking away.

"You get the special one," Chuckie sounded sad.

"Oh man, I am really sorry!" She heard Tommy's regretful voice, "This is like a bad after school special. I, I want to help, but I don't know how."

"I think you've done enough," The redhead walked away, clearly sounding emotionally hurt.

Shenzi panicked and attempted to hide when he was walking her way, although luckily, he didn't see her. She then took this opportunity to at least try to talk with him. "H-hey, Chuckie?"

"Yes, Nicole?" He whipped around, looking hopeful, but he looked surprised at who was actually behind him; Shenzi, already looking like someone just told her she was ugly and would die alone. "Sh-Shenzi! I, I thought you were..."

She sighed angrily as tears welled up. "Just forget it!" She stomped towards the restrooms, with her small hands clenched into fists. "Obviously you want Nicole more than me! I'm not good enough for you! Why should I even bother?!"

"Shenzi, I, I'm sorry!" He tried to catch up with her. "I honestly thought you were...!"

" _I KNOW WHO YOU THOUGHT I WAS!_ " She suddenly screamed, making him jump back and stop running, before she continued her way. "Now leave me alone!"

"Shenzi, I...!"

" _SAVE IT! TELL IT TO NICOLE, WHY DON'T YOU?!_ " She stomped into the girls' restroom, unaware that someone else was in one of the stalls, and slammed the door shut.

Chuckie knocked on the door. "Shenzi!"

" **GO AWAY!** " He jumped back, as other students stared at the scene.

"Wha-what's she so angry about?" Chuckie wondered aloud to himself. "I just thought she was Nicole, because their voices sound similar. Why's that such a big issue to her?" As he walked down the hall, he saw 13-year-old Susie Carmichael at her locker, and walked up to her. "Hey, Susie? Did you see what happened just there?"

"You mean with you and Shenzi? I think the whole hallway saw it. That girl has some lungs in her. What was she mad about?"

"I dunno," He shrugged, "I heard her voice, and thought she was Nicole, because they have similar voices, then she just exploded on me."

In the restroom, Shenzi locked herself in a stall, sat on the closed toilet lid, and sobbed in her knees. He seriously thought she was Nicole? She didn't want to sound mean, but it was insulting. She may hve a voice similar to Nicole's, but they couldn't sound _that_ much alike, could they? "Shenzi?" Her head snapped up at Frankie's voice. "You okay? Can I come in?"

"Y-yeah," She replied.

Frankie opened the stall door, then closed it after entering. "What happened out there?"

"Well," Shenzi sniffled and wiped her eyes, "I tried to talk to Chuckie, but... h-he thought I was Nicole."

Frankie winced in sympathy. "Ouch."

"Yea. I just decided to forget about saying what I wanted to say, and went in here."

"Well, I-I'm sure you'll find another boy to attend the dance with."

"I don't like any other boys here," Shenzi shrugged, "Not in that way, at least."

"You don't have to be romantically involved with them," Frankie pointed out, "They can be anyone who doesn't have a date yet. Let's think about it, okay?" After her stepsister shrugged again, they started thinking. "What about Harold?"

"Actually, he's the DJ, so he can't go with anyone," Shenzi reminded her.

"Ohh, right. Hmm... how about Phil? I don't think he has a date."

"Mmm... maybe I can try asking him. Although it depends on whether he actually wants a date or not."

"True. It's the same case with Dil."

"Yeah," Shenzi nodded.

Before they could think some more, the bell rang. "Oh! We'd better get to English class!"

"Yipee," Shenzi muttered sarcastically with a little giggle as they headed for the classroom. Throughout the day, she avoided Chuckie, or it was the other way around. He looked nervous every time they looked at each other, whether he at her, vice versa, or simultaneously.

Before long, it was time to head home for the day, and the two spectacled pre-teens hadn't said a single word to each other. Shenzi was too angry, and Chuckie was too nervous.

At home, the black-haired girl slumped on a kitchen chair, with her elbows on the table and her cheeks in her hands. "What's wrong?" Friar Tuck asked her, as he sat in front of her.

"I, I just had a rough day at school today."

"What happened?"

"Well... I want to ask him to the Valentine's Dance, but he likes someone else. Yet that someone else suddenly fell in love with Tommy, without an explanation. And... I tried to talk to him, but he mistook me for Nicole, the girl he likes over me, because we have similar voices. I flipped out on him, and we haven't spoken to each other since."

"Ohh. I'm sorry you had to go through that, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Dad."

"But... the first person you like isn't always the one."

"True," She shrugged, "But the thing is, he's not my first crush. I liked Justin Rogers for a while, before I... liked Chuckie. After meeting him, Justin just escaped my mind after Chuckie stole my heart. And... he and I are a lot alike."

"Well, he seems to focus on his schoolwork a lot like you do."

"Mm hmm," She nodded, "He's just so smart, funny, handsome..." She cleared her throat, "S-sorry, I was just rambling there. But my point is... there's no one else for me to ask."

"Yes there is!" Frankie suddenly piped up, startling her. "Justin Rogers! Ask him to the dance! I don't think he has a date!"

"Hmm," Shenzi thought about it after recovering from the surprise, "I'll try tomorrow."

The next day, Shenzi secretly watched Justin by his locker, waiting for Sean to leave. She knew that he wouldn't even talk to her if he was with Mr. "Too Cool to Care", so it was for the best. When Sean finally walked off, Shenzi walked up to Justin, trying her best to act casual. "Um, h-hey Justin?" He turned to look at her. "I uh, I was wondering... d-do you want to go to the dance with... me?"

He hesitated a bit. "Well... look, you seem like a cool girl, but... I already have a date."

Her heart fell a bit. "Oh, o-okay."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Um, ha-have fun with your date."

"Thanks. Hope you find one."

"Thanks." She then walked away, feeling disappointed. What now? Her former crush was already taken, and her current crush had eyes on someone else, even mistaking her for that someone else. She was thinking that she should just go dateless with Frankie, stay at the food table, and watch the dancing couples with jealousy. She then decided to do just that, no matter how stupid it sounded.

* * *

Before long, Shenzi and her stepsister were in the school gymnasium, where the party was just getting started. Shenzi was wearing a candy heart printed crop top, a black velour hoodie with short sleeves, a black tutu with a faux leather waistband, light pink cycle shorts, black and white horizontally striped knee-high socks with red mustache hearts, black Mary Jane flats with a white skull and crossbones and red hearts, a red heart glittery stretchy ring, a silver heart key ring, black rose earrings, a light pink mini top hat with a small veil and black feather, and a light pink extension. "You want to go dance?" Frankie asked her.

"No thanks," She shook her head, "I'll just stay here." She carefully leaned on the food table, so she wasn't in anyone's way, as Lil slapped any hands away from the cupcakes. Shenzi briefly heard that they were arranged in a friendship symbol or something, but wasn't exactly listening. She however, didn't see two boys hiding under the table. By the entrance, she saw Tommy come out of hiding from behind a potted plant, and Chuckie, who made her heart jump. He looked pretty handsome in his light blue button-up t-shirt, brown jeans, black Vans, and brown belt. Not to mention his hair wasn't all over the place like it usually was; She liked it that way, but personally preferred it wild. It seemed to suit him more. She saw what looked like Chuckie making up with Tommy for something she wasn't aware of. Something having to do with Nicole, she guessed, as they shared a fist bump.

Soon after, the dancing started after DJ Harold turned on the music, and the lights were dimmed. She still watched Chuckie and Tommy, still not knowing what they were talking about, but little did she realize, she wasn't going to like what would happen with them. "Go work that Finster magic, Chuckie, and ask her to dance." To her disappointment, the redhead started walking towards Nicole.

"We got ourselves an incoming," Shenzi briefly heard Dil's voice, then another boy's, who she didn't recognize, but dismissed them. They were probably rooting for Nicole in the competition for Chuckie's heart anyway. Although she herself wasn't fighting anyway; Nicole already had his heart, so what was the point?

She was surprised to see a purple hackysack suddenly fly in the air from behind her back, and land on Nicole's head. When the brunette saw Chuckie, she suddenly looked lovestruck. No offense to him, but that was new. "Chuckie!"

"Yeah, I know, the last guy you want to see, but... would you like...?"

"To dance?" Nicole finished his sentence with eagerness. "Love to!" She took his hand and ran to the dance floor, as Chuckie gave Tommy a thumbs-up.

Tears welled up as Shenzi watched her crush enjoy dancing with a girl that wasn't her. After only a second, she couldn't bear to watch; She crawled under the food table and finally let her sobs out, soaking her knees and the rims of her socks. She didn't notice something crawl down and sit next to her. "Shenzi?" She glanced up, and through her tears, she saw Lil in a light purple blouse, denim knee-length skirt, pink hair bow, yellow bead necklace, matching bracelet on her left wrist, and black shoes. "Are you okay?"

"N-not really," She wiped her eyes under her hair and glasses.

"What's wrong?"

"Well," Shenzi made sure no one was listening, "I... I like Chuckie. As in... I have a crush on him. A big one."

"O-oh," Lil stammered in surprise, "Then how come he's dancing with Nicole, and not you?"

"Because he prefers her over me," She hid her face again, "When I tried to talk to him the other day, he thought I was Nicole."

"Ouch," She winced with sympathy, before she spied feet facing the table. "Oh, here we go again. Sorry Shen, I gotta go." She quickly crawled out from under the table, and defended the cupcakes yet again.

Shenzi kept her face hidden, and stayed quiet as she was alone again. Now feeling curious, she pulled the tablecloth up, and her heart shattered at what she saw; During their dancing, Chuckie pecked Nicole on the cheek. She yanked the cloth back down, almost shifting the food, as she choked another sob out. Why couldn't that be her there, in Nicole's place?! That bimbo didn't deserve Chuckie! **(A/N: I don't have anything against Nicole. These are just Shenzi's thoughts.)**

Outside the hiding place, Dil looked back and forth after Z went to dance with Kimi. "What's up, Dil?" His new friend, Lil'Q, asked him.

"I hear a girl crying," Dil replied as he looked around, "But I don't see any girls crying out here." Under the table, he caught a glimpse of black skull Mary Janes, and striped socks. There was only one girl he knew who dressed like that other than on Halloween; Shenzi Tuck. "I'll be back." He crawled under the table, and saw the older girl hiding her face in her knees. "What's wrong, Shen?"

She peeked out from behind her arm, saw Dil next to her, and sat up. "W-well Dil, I-I've had a crush on Chuckie for a long time, but I was always afraid to tell him. So, now I'm experiencing the consequences."

"Really?"

"Uh huh," She nodded, "I'm such an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," Dil assured her, "I may not know anything about romance, but I do know that sometimes, it can ruin friendships. Is that what you're afraid of?"

"Yeah," She nodded, "I'm afraid of ruining my friendship with Chuckie, because... well, he's a great friend."

Dil felt bad for her as she rested her face behind her arms. He then wondered; Were those Cupid-like effects from Lil'Q's hackysack reversible? If they were from him at all? "Um, Sh-Shen? I'll be right back." He walked out from under the table. "Uh, Lil'Q? Are those weird effects from your hackysack reversible?"

"I... I think so," He thought about it, "Why?"

"Well, my friend Shenzi under the table likes Chuckie, that dude with the purple glasses, but he's currently with Nicole after she was hit. Would the effect go away if she was hit again or something?"

"I think that's what would happen," Lil'Q replied, "I can test it." He then kicked the hackysack in the air, so it landed on Nicole's head without seriously injuring her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"What happened?" Chuckie asked her in confusion.

"I dunno," She rubbed her head.

"Hey, Nicole! Over here!" Leslie Myers called her over, along with Diane Delongis.

"Coming, girls!" Nicole ran to the two girls, leaving Chuckie alone on the dance floor.

"Okay Shenzi, come out," Dil coaxed her into coming out of hiding, "Now, go ask him to dance."

"O-okay," She stammered, then walked up to him, her knees practically wobbling. "Um, Ch-... Ch-Chuckie?"

He turned to her, looking disappointed at being ditched. "Hi, Shen. Uh, are you still mad at me for what happened the other day?"

"No," She shook her head, "I, I was just wondering... would you like to... d-dance with me?"

After glancing back at Nicole, unintentionally making her fear the worst, he let a shy smile grow. "Okay, sounds great." Her heart jumped for joy as they started dancing together. After a while, the students started getting tired, so Harold turned off the music and the lights were brightened. It was then when Chuckie noticed something... off about his friend. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes looked a bit red. "Shenzi, have you been crying?"

Her heart thumped in her chest; She didn't think it _was_ that obvious. "Uh... y-yeah. Right before I asked you to dance."

"What was wrong?"

"Well..." She hesitated, "It was... from seeing you... dancing with Nicole."

He looked a bit confused. "Why would that make you sad?"

"Because..." This was it. He was going to learn the truth, after all this time. "I... I like you. As in "crush" like."

Chuckie looked very surprised at that. She had a crush on him all this time, and yet he was chasing after another girl? "Y-you do?"

"Yeah," She nodded, "I was just afraid to tell you, in fear of ruining out friendship."

"How would it ruin our friendship?"

She shrugged timidly. "If you didn't like me back."

"But... I do."

She couldn't stop her eyes from widening. "You do? Really?"

"Uh huh," He nodded. "Then why'd you have your heart set on coming here with Nicole?"

"Well, honestly... I was afraid that we'd feel awkward if we went together," He admitted, "I dunno. I was just afraid to ask you."

"Well... we're together now," She pointed out.

"U-uh huh," He nodded, "So um... since the dancing's over... what'll we do now?"

"Hmm, how about we sneak a couple of cupcakes?" She suggested with a giggle.

"Okay," He agreed, and they headed for the food table, hand-in-hand. They each took a cupcake from the arrangement, and ate them as they stood next to each other. "Um, f-fun party, huh?"

"I guess," Shenzi shrugged, "Um, s-sorry I blew up on you about you mistaking me for Nicole."

"It's okay," Chuckie assured him, "I'm sorry for the mistake. But, you guys really do sound similar."

"It's alright, I forgive you. And... you're right; We do sound alike."

"Except your voice is just a little bit deeper."

"Yep," She nodded, "Figures that I would sound like a man," She muttered under her breath, although he heard her.

"You don't sound like a man," Chuckie assured her, "You sound like a girl. A very sweet, very pretty girl."

She smiled timidly as her cheeks flushed. "Th-thanks, Chuckie." She smirked when he started snickering under his breath. "What? What's funny?"

"I-I'm sorry, I just imagined you with an actual man's voice," He chuckled.

She thought about it, and couldn't help but giggle at the concept. "You're right, it is pretty funny."

"But no matter how your voice sounds, you're still a beautiful girl." Her heart jumped in surprise when she briefly felt his lips on her cheek. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you how I felt about you earlier on. We would've definitely gone together if I had."

"It's okay, I'm at fault too. I should've told you my feelings for you earlier as well. So, uh... do you want to get a uh, a pizza sometime? Maybe tomorrow at 3? The Big Mall just opened a new pizzeria."

"That sounds great," He agreed.

"It's a date then," She nodded. As the party went on, the two friends chatted with each other. Shenzi felt perfectly comfortable when Chuckie explained what happened with Tommy and Nicole, while listening intently. Apparently, Nicole had suddenly fallen in love with Tommy, without any warning or foreshadowing, and Chuckie tried to get Tommy to explain. But everything was cool when she danced with Chuckie instead.

That night, Shenzi went to bed with a smile on her face. This Valentine's Day turned from the worst, due to her believing Chuckie liked someone else, to the best of her life, because she scored a date with Chuckie! She could hardly wait for that!

* * *

 **(A/N: Here's V. You know the disclaimer. Only four more oneshots to go.)**


	23. W: Winter Storm

**(A/N: This one came to me pretty quickly, to be honest. Pretty suitable for January, right? XD Anyway, enjoy!)**

* * *

 **W- Winter Storm**

Summary: The winter season has rolled around in New Jersey, and Shenzi can't come out in it alone for a special reason. What is the reason? You'll find out!

* * *

19-year-old Shenzi Tuck, no _Finster,_ was sitting in the living room, watching the snow fall rapidly outside. She wasn't quite used to the New Jersey weather, but was almost there. She had been happily married to 19-year-old Chuckie Finster for several weeks now, and they were still very happy. Where was Chuckie, you ask? He was currently showering; He was hesitant to leave her alone, because she was now more fragile than usual for special reasons, but she assured him that she would be alright, and coaxed him into cleaning himself.

She then realized something; He never got the mail! He always got it before showering. She figured that today, he just sincerely forgot. Hmm... would she get in trouble with him if she went outside to get it herself, so he wouldn't have to? He made it clear that it was too dangerous for her to go out in her condition, but one time couldn't hurt, right? She'll be extra careful! She only hoped that there wouldn't be any big packages today. And about the getting in trouble part; He would never hurt her! He was just protective of his beautiful wife.

She then made her decision. After glancing at the bathroom to see if Chuckie was still occupied, she grabbed her black winter jacket, which had brown fake fur lining the hood, and walked outside in the cold snow after stepping in her black and white fur-trimmed bow snow boots. While shivering, she walked to the mailbox and back to the house, feeling thankful that there were only envelopes. She gasped in surprise when one of her feet suddenly skidded on the slick ice along the driveway, but she maintained balance and walked more cautiously. After stripping out of her jacket and boots, stomping the snow out of the latter and hanging up the latter, she set the mail on top of the clothes washer for Chuckie to get.

He'd understand, right? He couldn't go outside with wet hair! He'd catch a cold! When she walked by the kitchen, she stopped upon seeing Chuckie at the refrigerator, facing away from her. She tiptoed away from the room, her grey striped Mickey Mouse Tsum Tsums ankle socks cushioning her footsteps, but a sudden shiver made her heels drop, getting his attention. "Shenzi?" Her heart jumped. "What's wrong? Why's there snow in your hair?" During his last sentence, his voice had a tone of suspicion.

"I, I uh..." She drew out.

"What were you doing outside?"

She then realized her mistake. "G-getting the mail," She squeaked nervously, dreading his reaction. As mentioned earlier, he would never hurt her in any way, but she hated upsetting him.

"Shenzi, I said not to go outside alone!" He scolded her.

"I-I know, but..."

"You're pregnant now, baby girl. You can't risk hurting yourself." He brushed against her chilly cheek with the backs of his fingers. Yep, you read right. Shenzi has had a bun in the oven for a few weeks now, but wasn't quite showing yet.

"I know," She hung her head down in shame, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," He pulled her into a gentle hug, with his cheek in her snow-sprinkled hair, "I just don't want you or our baby to get hurt." She rested on his shoulder, with one hand on his chest. He stepped back a bit, and kissed her forehead over her short bangs. "Let's go to bed, and just... rest, okay?"

"'Kay," She nodded, and followed him to their bedroom. Next to it was the soon-to-be nursery for the baby. It was left all white for until the gender was determined to avoid decorating for the wrong one. "What were you doing in the fridge?"

"Oh, just putting some water away," He shrugged, "I had forgotten about it yesterday."

"Ah," She nodded, then giggled. "Away, yesterday. They rhyme."

"Yep," He chuckled, then sat at the headboard of the queen-sized bed. She crawled up to him after he patted the spot at his left, and snuggled on his shoulder as he held her closer. He kissed her black, slightly damp hair, then rested his head on hers. Their eyes were closed as relaxed, affectionate smiles graced their faces.

They were both clad in their pajamas, since they were just lounging around their home. Chuckie's had a black t-shirt with a red and yellow Saturn on the front **(A/N: Sound familiar? ;])** , black and white plaid pants, and white running socks from Nike. Shenzi was in a grey Mickey Mouse ringer t-shirt, white super minky pants with a Tsum Tsums print, her striped ankle socks, which had red rims and toes, and black barbells in her pointy ears as substitutes for earrings. "So, uh... anything interesting in the mail today?" He asked her.

"Not really," She shrugged, "But then again, I didn't look that closely at it."

"Ohh, getting lazy, huh?" He teased her, as he slowly tapped his fingers on her side. She flinched and giggled quietly from the slight ticklish feeling.

When he kept going, she gently slapped his hand away. "Stop it, that tickles."

"So, even when you're pregnant, you're still ticklish?" He smirked teasingly. "That's good to know." He gently dug his fingertips in a sensitive area in her side, getting a shriek out of her. The soft fabric of her shirt almost made it tickle more.

"Chuckie!" She practically threw his hand back, luckily not injuring him, then tried to crawl away from him, but he carefully pulled her back to him, so her back was on his chest, and scribbled his fingers around her sides. "Eheheek! Heheheheahahaha! Stohohohohohop!"

"Sorry Shen," He teased her, with his chin on her shoulder, "I'm tickling for two now." He moved his hands to her flat tummy, shifting under her shirt as her eyes squeezed shut. "Koochie koochie koo, my little baby!"

"Stohohohohohop ihihihihit! Stohohohop!" She squealed as he attacked her bare sides, bunching her shirt up. She tried to crawl away again, but he carefully pinned her face-up on their soft bed, pulled her shirt up, tickling her squirming sides along the way, and blew a raspberry on her tummy, right on her belly button. "Eeek! Hahahahahaha!" She burst out laughing, as he tickled her hips. "Chuhuhuhuckiehehehe! Ihehehehe hahave to p-peehehehehe! Stohohohohop!"

"Okay," He chuckled as he drew his hands away, "Go ahead and pee."

"Thanks," She kissed his cheek, then dashed to the bathroom, alarming him at how fast she was going.

Just before he heard the door close, Chuckie turned on the TV in their bedroom, and switched the channel to the weather, although it was at a commercial break. Feeling bored without his wife by his side, he gazed out the window at the snow still falling. Would it ever stop? He hoped so. He hated to hold Shenzi back, but he couldn't risk anything bad happening to her and/or the baby. As he stared at the flurries, he didn't hear Shenzi tiptoe back in the room.

With a mischievous grin, she sneaked up behind him, and swiftly poked his side. "Oh!" He yelped in surprise and ticklishness, then chuckled upon seeing his wife stifling giggles. "I deserved that."

"Yep," She nodded in agreement, and sat on the bed next to him. "What're you watching?"

"The weather channel," He shrugged, "It has the longest commercial breaks ever."

"I know, right?" She agreed, "Oh, it's back on." After snuggling into a dark blue star printed minky blanket, the married couple watched as the weatherman provided information about the upcoming conditions for any viewers.

"Uh oh," Chuckie muttered after a thunder storm was said to come and hit them. His wife had a phobia for thunder and lightning, ever since she was only two years old. "We'll be alright, Shen," He assured her.

"O-okay," She nodded.

* * *

That night, the storm had started a bit after the couple had dinner. Chuckie had made mashed potatoes with shredded cheese, remembering it was Shenzi's favorite. He was surprised, yet amused when she requested a second bowl after finishing her first. But then again, she was eating for two now, so it was understandable. They were now sitting on the couch, snuggled against each other as they mindlessly watched TV. Shenzi was on the verge of falling asleep from her husband's comforting hold, but his finger poking her tummy made her flinch awake. "Ehehe! S-sorry."

"It's okay," He assured her.

"I'm going to go take a shower. Be right back." After kissing his lips, she stood on the floor, grabbed a towel, washcloth, and clean clothes, and walked in the bathroom.

Chuckie smiled as he watched her go, then turned back to the TV as he let his thoughts occupy himself. He was the luckiest guy in the whole world; He had a lovely wife, and a baby on the way! Life was great, and was only going to get better. He flinched when he saw a flash of lightning from the corner of his eye out the window. He hoped that Shenzi would finish her shower soon, if the electricity was going to black out.

Luckily, a few minutes passed, and the power stayed on. Not to mention Shenzi came out of the shower, clad in blush pink Alice in Wonderland pjs, with small shorts and a ruffle-hemmed camisole that didn't reach her waist. For warmth, she wore a black ruffled velour robe that almost blended with her long, wet hair. "Hi Chuckie," She greeted him.

He turned, and smiled at her. "There's my lovely wife." He stood up, and kissed her cheek. "How was your shower, darling?"

She giggled and blushed a bit at the cheesy, but sweet pet name. "It was fine. Pretty wet."

"I figured," He chuckled, "Let's go to bed. The satellites are out anyway."

"Alright," She nodded, and they walked up in their bedroom. On their way to the bed, she stopped to stretch her arms up in fatigue. Chuckie smiled as he watched her; Her robe was fully open, and her top had shimmied up from her movements, so the soft skin on her tummy under her belly button was revealed. After her arms flopped down, she practically jumped in the bed, amusing (and alarming) Chuckie as he quickly crawled up to her.

"Be careful there," He told her, "You're carrying precious cargo now."

"R-right," She smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry, Chuckie. I'm just not used to pregnancy."

"It's okay," He assured her, "As I said earlier, I just don't want anything to happen to you or our baby. I don't know what I'd do if either of you were hurt in any way."

"I'll be careful from now on," She laid on his chest sleepily, "I promise."

"Good to know," He smiled lovingly at her, and kissed her forehead, "'Night, my love." She was however, already asleep, so he didn't get a response. Still smiling, he gingerly took off her glasses and set them on the nightstand, then set his next to them, and carefully laid his head on hers and drifted off to sleep. His eyes snapped open and his heart jumped when there was a sudden, bright flash of lightning, associated by a super loud clap of thunder. He and Shenzi both almost jumped out of their skin in fear, as she clutched onto him tightly. "It, it's okay sweetheart," He rubbed her back and stroked her hair in comfort, as she waited for her heart rate to decrease back to normal, "You're okay."

She breathed heavily from the fright, but was calm after a few seconds. "Th-that was a big one," She stuttered, then flinched at a flash of lightning.

"Yep," He agreed with her, "But we'll be alright. Tomorrow, it'll all be o...ver." He stopped when the digital alarm clock was suddenly blank. "Uh oh."

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

"It... it looks like we'll be living like our ancestors for a while."

"The power's out?" Her eyes widened, although he didn't see it all that clearly, if at all.

"Yep," He replied, "Hopefully it won't be for too long. I hope you won't have to..." He stopped when she suddenly jumped off the bed, and ran to the bathroom instinctively. "Oh boy." He winced sympathetically and ran to the bathroom when he heard his wife throw up from her pregnancy. He held her hair back before she finished.

"Ugh," She grimaced from the disgusting taste.

"Here, I'll get you some water from the fridge. It should still be cold." He ran to the fridge, filled a glass with water, which was thankfully chilled, and carefully ran back to her. "Here you go." He handed the glass to her, letting go when he felt a slight tug on it.

"Thanks, Chuck." She poured some in her mouth, sloshed it around for a second, then spit it out in the sink, repeating these actions until the taste was gone. She then drank some to soothe her throat as she and Chuckie walked back to their bedroom, and set the glass on the nightstand at her side. "S-sorry."

"Don't be sorry," He stroked her hair, "It's not your fault. When you have to, you have to. There's just no preventing it. But..." He ran to the living room, grabbed a bucket they had on hand in case of any roof leaks, and ran back to her. "You can use this until the power is back on. One of us will flush the toilet at that time."

"Okay," She nodded and grabbed the handle, "Thanks Chuckie." She set the bucket at her side of the bed on the floor, where she could easily reach it, and crawled back under the warm covers. She laid her hands on her tummy as Chuckie crawled in next to her. "All the pregnancy troubles will be worth it once they're over, I just know it."

"Troubles?" He couldn't help but feel concerned.

"Oh, I meant like mood swings, wacky cravings, all that."

"Oh," Chuckie sighed in relief, "I was afraid that you were having serious issues, like anything bad."

"O-oh. Well, I'm alright," Shenzi laid on his shoulder, "If I have an issue, I'll get you. I promise." She flinched harshly at a bright flash of lightning, and covered her ears at the loud thunder that followed.

"Man, that storm sounds bad," Chuckie remarked after lowering his hands from his ears, "But I'm sure it'll pass soon. Why don't we try to sleep it off?"

"Okay," She nodded, as he took off his glasses (he put them on when she ran in the bathroom), and set them by the blank alarm clock. She couldn't help but stare at him from the very little light provided by a candle he had lit up and set on the nightstand. The way his long, red hair practically framed his face, even falling around his eyes; He was seriously handsome.

"What?" He smiled at her.

"You're... you're just so handsome in low light," She smiled shyly.

"Thanks Shen," He laid his forehead on hers, and brushed her blushing left cheek under her long bangs, "And you're absolutely stunning in low light." The couple shared a kiss for a few seconds, paying no mind to the lightning and thunder that seemingly tried to interrupt them.

When they parted, Shenzi's large eyes were drooping with fatigue, nearly to the point of being completely closed. "G-g'night, Chuckie." She snuggled in her husband's shoulder, and was out like the electricity currently was.

"G'night, my love," He kissed her soft hair, and drifted off to sleep with his wife in his arms, as the lightning dimmed and the thunder decreased in volume. In the middle of the night, the power came back on, but the peaceful couple didn't notice.

* * *

 **(A/N: Well, there's W. Only three more to go! You know the disclaimer.)**


	24. X: X-Ray

**(A/N: I'm so-o-o sorry I took so long on this one! Writer's block struck again, along with my love for Blue Sky Studio's Epic briefly blossoming back. Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **X- X-Ray**

Summary: Shenzi and Chuckie are on a picnic date together in the park, when they see a kid about to get hit by a car. What happens? 

* * *

16-year-old Chuckie Finster laid out the large, red and white gingham blanket on the grass, and sat at one side with the picnic basket. His girlfriend of 3 years, 15-year-old Shenzi Tuck, sat closely next to him, cross-legged. For the warm weather, she was in a light pink Killstar babydoll dress, a black v-neck, button-up vest, black and light pink Converse low tops with white laces, black small hoop earrings, and a light pink hair extension clipped in her long bangs, which draped over the left side of her face, contrasting with her raven black hair. Even her black cat-eye prescription glasses were halfway covered, as was her left, blue eye. Her right eye, which was actually green, was unveiled for the world to see.

Why is the left side of her face covered? One word: Bullies. They made fun of her because of a condition she had called Heterochromia, where a person has different colored eyes. Chuckie's heart ached when she cried to him from their insults; He didn't know why people were so cruel. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful girl he ever had the pleasure to know. She had a wonderful personality; Sweet, generous, but not afraid to get nasty when her loved ones were hurt or in danger of any kind. Although he did admit that she seemed to let insults get to her, no matter how much she'd been told not to. She was just sensitive, in both ways, but regardless of that, he loved her, and nothing would change that.

A soft peck on his cheek snapped him back to reality. "The food's getting cold," She giggled, "And I'm hungry."

"S-sorry," He stammered, and took out their hamburgers made by his mother, Kira. He also had two Pepsi bottles in the basket, and some chocolate chip cookies, also made by Kira especially for their date. Although there was too much for just the two of them, so she gave some to Chuckie's stepsister, Kimi for her date with Tommy Pickles, and kept the rest at home.

"I can already smell those cookies," She giggled.

"Well, you'll have to wait until we finish our burgers," He smiled as he gave one of the burgers and bottles to her, along with a paper plate, and a kiss on the cheek.

"'Kay," She playfully pouted, then took a bite out of her burger, as Chuckie unwrapped his. "These are awesome as always," She remarked after swallowing, then took a gulp of Pepsi, "Your mom's a great cook."

"Your mom is too," Chuckie shrugged, before taking a bite.

"Yeah," She nodded, "Both of our moms are great cooks."

Before long, they finished their burgers and took out the cookies. "These are awesome," Shenzi remarked after swallowing a large bite.

"Yep," Chuckie nodded in agreement after swallowing a smaller, but still big bite. He chuckled when she let out a loud burp from the soda. She had attracted the attention of two other park patrons. "Excuse you," He kissed her nose as she giggled in slight embarrassment.

"Yea, excuse me," She sheepishly finished her first cookie, then grabbed another. She and her boyfriend each had 3. After they were done eating, they threw out their plates, stashed the blanket in the basket, and went for a walk once their meals were digested. "Nice day, huh?" She remarked.

"Yep," Chuckie agreed, "Perfect for a picnic and a walk with a lovely girl." He kissed her soft, black hair as her cheeks flushed.

"Aww Chuckie," She giggled, "You're so cheesy."

"Well I like cheese," He teased her, "And I know you do too."

"It makes me gassy," She pouted.

"So you're lactose entolerant," He shrugged, while trying not to laugh, "That's not a bad thing." He gently patted her back. "It just one of the things that make you, well, you. And I love you."

Shenzi let a shy smile grow. "And I love you too, Chuck." She leaned up, and kissed his freckled cheek. She then spotted something a distance away; Something very bad. "Oh no! That kid's walking into the road!"

Chuckie's eyes widened in shock. "Where's his mother?! Why can't parents look after their kids?!"

A determined glare grew on Shenzi's face. "Be right back." With that, she broke into a run, greatly alarming her boyfriend.

"Shenzi, wait!" He tried to run after her, but she was too fast. His heart stopped when he saw a car speeding on the road towards them! "Shenzi!" He ran again, but was too late; His girlfriend pushed the kids out of danger, and took the harsh hit! He shielded his eyes in horror at the banging sound, and the yell of pain from Shenzi. When he unveiled his eyes, the offending car drove off, and his girlfriend was on the concrete, her tiny hands hovering around her left leg, which looked pretty battered, and a pained expression was on her face. "Shenzi!" He immediately came to her aid.

"C-call 911," She stuttered with a strained tone.

"On it." He whipped out his phone, dialed the emergency number as quickly as possible, and explained what happened, ending it with a plead for them to hurry. When he hung up, his heart swelled with sympathy at his one and only's pained look. "You're okay, baby." He stroked her hair in attempts of comfort.

"It, it hurts, Chuckie," She breathed heavily.

"Look at me, sweetheart." He pressed his forehead against his, and stared into her eyes, or eye. "Just look at me. Try to ignore the pain, and focus on me. The ambulance will be here soon." He could see that she was trying her best to be strong through the searing pain in her leg. He cupped her cheek with his right hand, and kissed her slightly damp forehead as she breathed heavily. She was still trying to look in his eyes, to focus on him instead of the agony. She shifted her attention to all the features on his incredibly handsome face; His adorable freckles, his kissable cheeks, his beautiful brown eyes framed by his purple rectangular eyeglasses, his cute nose, his long red hair falling in his eyes, etc. He was truly a handsome boy. Their hearts jumped in surprise when she was suddenly lifted up by a paramedic, and carefully laid on a stretcher. "I, I have to go in with her," Chuckie pleaded them when he wasn't given access to the inside of the ambulance. "I'm her boyfriend; She needs me."

The two paramedics nodded, then stepped aside. "Go ahead, sir."

"Thanks," He sighed in relief, then carefully but quickly walked inside, and sat at his girlfriend's side. "I'm here, baby girl." He ran his fingers through her hair, as he held her hand. "I'm not leaving you." He was forced to let go of her hand when they arrived at the hospital, and she was rolled into the emergency room. He ran in an attempt to catch up, before she was seated in the emergency room. He scooted the guest chair as closely to hers as possible, and gently laid her head on his shoulder for comfort. "It's okay, sweetie. You're alright." She was quiet, as she tried to stay strong through the pain. He kissed her forehead as he brushed her hair from her face.

"Ms. Tuck?" The doctor walked into the room. "We need to get an x-ray of your leg to determine its condition."

"Eh-x-ray?" She squeaked out in fear.

"Don't worry, x-rays don't hurt," The doctor assured her, and Chuckie nodded.

"C-can my boyfriend please come with me?" She timidly requested.

"Yes he can," The doctor nodded, to her and her boyfriend's relief, "Let's just get you in a wheelchair, Ms. Tuck." He and Chuckie helped her sit in a wheelchair ready for her, then Chuckie wheeled her to the x-ray room, following the doctor. Shenzi squeaked in fear when she saw the long table, and intimidating machine.

"You'll be alright, baby girl," Chuckie kissed the back of her head, "It'll help you get better."

"Whe-where are my parents?" She asked him nervously. "A-and Frankie?"

"They got caught up in something," Chuckie replied, "But they'll be here soon. I'm here for you. I'm not leaving you."

After a while, the procedure was over, and Shenzi was wheeled back to the room she was in before. "You just wait here until we get the results from the x-ray, Ms. Tuck." The doctor then walked out of the room, leaving the couple alone. Chuckie brushed the back of her soft hand with his thumb, and kissed her head. "You're okay."

"Shenzi!" Frankie, the black-haired girl's stepsister, came rushing in, followed by their parents, Felicia and Friar Tuck. Frankie sat in the chair in front of her sister, and scooted it closer. "What happened?"

"I... I saw this kid on the road, I ran out there to save him, and... next thing I know, my leg is hurting really badly."

"Did you get x-rays yet?" Friar Tuck asked her, sitting to her right and taking her free hand.

"Y-yeah, but they don't have the results yet," She replied, before her breath hitched, "Ma-man, it hurts."

"You'll be fine, sweetie," Felicia tried to comfort her, while brushing her dark hair from her face, "You'll be just fine."

"We're here for you," Chuckie assured his girlfriend.

After a while, the doctor came in. "Ms. Tuck? According to you x-rays, your leg is definitely broken, and will require surgery for it to heal."

Shenzi looked like she wanted to throw up. "Ser-ser-surgery?" She stammered.

"You'll be alright," Chuckie kissed her cheek.

"It's a routine procedure, Ms. Tuck," The doctor told you, "There won't be any problems."

"When does her surgery start?" Felicia asked him.

"In about... 6 hours." Shenzi squeaked in fear at that. "I'll come get you when that time comes. We'll get you settled in a room for now." Shenzi was set back in her wheelchair, with Chuckie and Friar Tuck helping, and was wheeled by the doctor to a currently vacant room, 246. She was carefully laid on the hospital bed, Chuckie wanting to throw up at her squeaks and yelps of pain, and her wheelchair was kept close by.

"H-how're you doing?" Chuckie asked her after sitting as close to her as possible.

"As fine as you can be with a broken leg," She shrugged, her voice quiet, "I'm scared. No, _terrified._ Surgery just scares me."

"You'll be okay," Friar Tuck assured her, "The doctor said it's a regular thing, so there won't be any issues."

"You'll pull through," Chuckie rubbed her tiny hand, "You're so brave, more so than me. I mean, you practically sacrificed your life for someone you don't even know. And if that's not brave, I don't know what is." He kissed her temple as she shyly averted her gaze.

The 6 hours flew by too fast for the family's liking; Shenzi was taken to the operating room before long, and were waiting anxiously for the youngest's return. The three Tucks felt for Chuckie when he was slumped over, with his hands on his cheeks, his head hung low. His red hair concealed both sides of his face. "She'll be alright, Chuck," Frankie patted his shoulder in comfort, "Like you said, she's a brave, strong girl. She'll pull through, I know it."

"I know, but still," He sighed in distress, "I'm still really worried about her. Surgery scares her a lot; Even the thought of it makes her uncomfortable. I can't imagine what she could be going through right now."

"You mean other than the anesthesia?" Frankie tried to joke with him, to ease up the tension in the room, but the looks she received said that it wasn't working. "S-sorry. Um, I can't imagine it either."

The family waited for hours in anxiety for Shenzi to be wheeled back into the room, with her leg fixed up. It felt like days were passing by. Their hearts leapt with hope when they would hear footsteps coming, but would feel disappointed when they would just pass by the room. At one point, Chuckie started pacing back and forth, deeply worrying his girlfriend's family. "She's alright, Chuckie," Felicia tried to assure him, but he didn't stop.

Thankfully for his sanity, the doctor wheeled a stretcher in the room, with Shenzi laying peacefully on it. Chuckie rushed over immediately, and helped in laying her back on the bed. "H-how'd the surgery go?" He asked the doctor, while stroking his girlfriend's hair.

"It went perfectly fine," The doctor replied, "Her leg should heal in 6 weeks, at least, with some rest. She's asleep right now, but should wake up soon."

"Thank God," Friar Tuck sighed in relief.

"I'll tell our principal what happened, so she could be excused from school for a while," Frankie decided, "Either me or Chuckie can bring her homework to her."

The redhead was sitting next to Shenzi as close to her as possible, holding her tiny hand with his head carefully laid on hers. His heart jumped when she let out a little relaxed moan, and snuggled in his neck a bit. "Sh-Shen?" He stammered, and her eyes blinked open.

"Hmm?" She hummed sleepily. "Wh-what happened?"

"Your leg is fixed up," Chuckie replied, gesturing to her left leg, which was in a white cast.

"O-oh!" She then remembered.

"How're you feeling, sweetheart?" Friar Tuck asked her.

"I'm still pretty sore," She shrugged, "When can I go home?"

"Probably after 2 nights at most," Felicia replied. Her heart swelled with sympathy when her youngest daughter looked disappointed.

"I'll stay with you as much as I can," Chuckie assured her, with a kiss in her hair.

"Thanks Chuckie," She smiled sleepily, and laid on his shoulder. "Ugh, my leg hurts," She whispered, although he heard her.

"You're alright," He rubbed her arm soothingly, "It'll heal before you know it. The stitches should be taken out in a couple weeks from now. But hey; At least you won't be going to school for a few weeks."

"True," She giggled weakly.

"When you're home, I'll stay with you as much as I can," He promised her.

"Yay," She smiled sleepily, but lovingly at him, "I look forward to that."

* * *

After a couple weeks, Shenzi was back at the hospital, to have her stitches taken out. Chuckie was with her, but since there had to be a family member of hers, Friar Tuck came with them. For the warm day, she was in a black cropped camisole, red and black lace-trimmed satin ballet flats, a red extension, black rose earrings, and to cover her leg with comfort, black high-waisted flare jeans. "You alright, Shen?" Chuckie asked her.

"I, I guess," She replied, "I'm scared, though."

"You'll be fine," He kissed her forehead, "Those stitches will be taken out, then your leg will fully heal with time." He brushed the back of her hand with his thumb, as she laid on his shoulder.

"Thank God," She whispered, although he heard her.

"Yep," He nodded in agreement. Shenzi's heart pounded with fear when they arrived at the hospital. "Here, I'll help you out of the car." He jumped out on the concrete, opened his girlfriend's side door, and helped her walk out on the ground, feeling sympathy when she cringed at every step on her left leg. "Here, I'll carry you." He carefully lifted her up bridal style, but started struggling from his lack of strength. "Oh boy." He gently set her down on her feet, but kept her in his arms. "Um, m-maybe your dad should do it." She giggled weakly, making him smile.

Shenzi smiled and giggled some more when Friar Tuck lifted her up in the same way her boyfriend did, but with more ease. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

The two walked into the proper waiting room, where the young patient was carefully set in one of the chairs, next to Chuckie. She reached for her left leg to scratch an itch near the stitches, but refrained. But trying to be careful, she went to get rid of the itch, but her breath hitched when pain radiated in that area. "Be careful there," Chuckie held her hand in both of his, "Don't mess with the stitches."

"S-sorry," She mumbled, "I just had an itch."

"Ah," He nodded, "Well still, try to be careful... and patient." He let out a snicker. "Get it? Patient?" He chuckled as Shenzi and Friar Tuck stared at him. "Hehe, never mind." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, those pesky threads will be out before you know it, Shen." He kissed her temple, before they heard the doctor's voice.

"Shenzi Tuck?"

"See?" He smiled at his girlfriend as he helped her stand up. He and his soon-to-be father-in-law helped her walk into the proper room and sit on the bed.

"Ms. Tuck, you'll have to take off your jeans for your stitches to be taken out," The doctor told her after the door was closed.

"O-okay," She stammered shyly. After she undid all the buttons, Chuckie helped her slide them down, revealing her red Mickey Mouse hipster panties.

He tried not to stare as she sat back on the bed, but his flushed red cheeks were a clear giveaway. When he looked at Friar Tuck, his heart jumped when he saw that he didn't look very happy with him. "S-sorry," He stammered, "I'm trying not to stare, I promise."

"It's fine," He assured his soon-to-be son-in-law. But then he saw that the doctor had slightly flushed cheeks as well, with his eyes averted at a bad place. "Hey! Quit eyeballing my daughter!"

"M-my apologies, Mr. Tuck," He stammered, then carefully went to work.

Chuckie held her hand as the stitches were being taken out, but one peek made him almost lose his breakfast. "I'll help her," Friar Tuck offered, "You just rest, and don't look at the stitches."

"Th-thanks," Chuckie stuttered, "Is that alright, Shen?"

"Mm hmm," She nodded, looking like she was in pain. As her boyfriend sat close to her, yet away from the stitches, her left hand was carefully but quickly held in her father's. "Thanks, guys." Chuckie rubbed her upper arms, as he kissed the back of her head.

Before long, the procedure was finished, and her leg was wrapped up again. "Okay Ms. Tuck, your leg should heal after a few weeks of resting," The doctor told her, as she put her jeans back on, with Chuckie's help.

"Alright," She nodded as she re-did the buttons, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

With that, the three walked back to the car, Chuckie helping Shenzi inside, then headed back to her house. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked her.

"I guess not," She shrugged, "Although I should ask you that," She giggled.

"Haha, hilarious," He smirked, "I have a low tolerance for stuff like that."

"I know," She nodded, "I'm sorry." She rubbed his hand in comfort.

"It's okay, you shouldn't be sorry," He kissed her lips, "I shouldn't have looked. It just... looked like Sally the ragdoll."

"I had the same thought," She shrugged, "I'm just glad they're out."

"Me too," He agreed with her, "But next time you save a life... be more careful, okay?"

"Okay," She giggled, "I'll try, I promise." She laid on his shoulder.

"I'll take that promise," He chuckled as he laid his head on hers, while holding her hand.

The couple spent the rest of the car ride in silence, before they arrived at her house. With Chuckie and Friar Tuck's help, she stepped out of the car, and walked in the house, where Felicia and Frankie were waiting for them. "Hey sweetie," Felicia greeted her, "How'd it go?"

"As expected," She shrugged as she carefully sat on the couch next to Chuckie and her mother. She cringed as she squirmed a bit.

"You alright?" Chuckie asked her. "You want to change into better pants?"

"Mm hmm," She nodded, and carefully stood up, "I'll be right back."

"I'll help you," Frankie stood up, and assisted her baby sister up the stairs and in her dark bedroom, gingerly closing the door behind them. "You just sit and relax, sis." She sat Shenzi on the bed. "Now, which pants do you want?"

"It doesn't matter," She shrugged, while undoing the buttons on her jeans, "Any comfy pairs will suffice."

"Here you go," Frankie gave her a pair of red Mickey Mouse sleep pants, which matched her underwear, "I won't look, I promise." She faced the door, with her hands shielding her eyes.

Shenzi carefully pulled her jeans down, wincing at the pain in her left leg, then carefully stepped into and pulled up the more comfortable pants so they were sitting somewhat high up on her hips, although some skin on her slender tummy was still peeking out. "Okay, you can look." Frankie turned around, while lowering her hands. "Now, let's go downstairs."

"You sure you don't want to lay in bed?" The blonde girl asked her. "It doesn't matter."

"Well... I actually do think it would be better if I laid down." Shenzi shifted on her bed, and leaned back against the headboard. "But um... can you ask Chuckie to come up? I just... want him to be here."

"Okey-dokey," Frankie nodded, then walked downstairs and up to her soon-to-be brother-in-law. "Hey, Chuck?" He turned to look at her. "Shenzi's in bed, and she wants you."

"Is she alright?" He asked her in a slight panic.

"She's okay," She assured him, "She just wants you there with her."

"Ohh," He nodded, "Okay then. Anything for her." He then walked upstairs and peeked in her room, seeing her on the bed. "You decent?" He lightly joked with her.

"Uh huh," She giggled, then patted the area to her right, "Go ahead and sit."

"Thanks." He carefully sat next to her after stepping out of his shoes, and held her closer by her shoulders. "How's your leg?"

"It's still sore," She replied, "But not as much as before."

"Good," He kissed her head, "I hate seeing you hurt, physically or otherwise."

"Same with you," She said quietly, "I'm glad it was me that took the hit, and not you."

"Well..." He hesitated, "I-I'm sorry, but I wish it was me. I hope you get better soon."

"Thanks, Chuckie." They kissed for a few seconds, but avoided getting intimate. She wasn't quite ready for that, even without an injured limb. He smiled warmly at her when she let out a yawn. "I'm sleepy; I need a nap."

"You sleep then," He rubbed her arm, "Should I leave, so you can rest?" Secretly, he hoped she would refuse that, because he didn't want to leave her alone.

He was relieved when she shook her head. "No thanks. I feel better, knowing you're here." She took off her glasses and gave them to him, so he set them on the pink cupcake table. With a blissful sigh, she was out like a light.

Chuckie kissed her forehead and rubbed her upper arm as she slept peacefully. He sighed blissfully as he carefully rested his head on hers. She was truly an angel; She sacrificed her life for a stranger's! He really loved her; She was the perfect girlfriend, and girl in general, in his eyes. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep himself. When Frankie saw them, she couldn't help but take a picture of the adorable scene with her phone, and report back to her parents of what was happening.

* * *

 **(A/N: And X bites the dust. Two more to go! You know the disclaimer. I know pretty much nothing about what goes on in hospitals involving surgery, because I've never had it, so sorry if it's inaccurate.)**


	25. Y: Yu-Gotta-Go

**(A/N: This one is based off the AGU episode "Yu-Gotta-Go". Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **Y- Yu-Gotta-Go**

Summary: When Chuckie starts collecting cards from the popular franchise "Yu-Gotta-Go", his obsession gets out of control. Can Shenzi and their friends bring him back to his senses before he could do anything drastic? 

* * *

11-year-old Shenzi Tuck walked in Jim Jr. Junior High School on a nice, warm day, but what she saw in the hallway made her hold back an eye roll. Every student in the school seemed to be obsessed with the Yu-Gotta-Go franchise, especially today. Shenzi personally thought of the franchise as overrated, and was glad that no one in her family liked it that much, if at all. Although their friends enjoyed the game, they luckily didn't shove it in her face like the other students seemingly did.

When she walked outside, she saw a few of her friends gathered at one table, playing with Yu-Gotta-Go cards. For them, she kept her pet peeve about it to herself. "Dil! I told you to move your chocolate milk!" Tommy Pickles scolded his younger brother. "My card's all ruined now!"

"How could you play a two-headed eel card against the robotic sushi chef?" Lil DeVille asked Dil incredulously.

Shenzi walked to another table, not hearing the rest, to where Harold Frumpkin, and her best friend, Chuckie Finster, were sitting. "King me!" Chuckie announced with the slightest bit of pride, before the Goth sat next to him. "Oh, hi Shenzi," He greeted her. "He thinks he's so great."

"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"The Shark," He began clarifying, "Just because he has more Yu-Gotta-Go cards than everyone else here, he's automatically a big deal. Let's see him play a game that takes _real_ skills. Hmm..." From the corner of his eye, he saw his best friend lean towards him. "Oh uh, sorry Shen, I don't need help."

"O-okay then."

Chuckie then claimed one of Harold's pieces. "Oh yeah!"

But just then, Harold claimed three of Chuckie's! "Yes!"

"Come on Chuckie, Shenzi," Tommy walked up to the table with a deck of cards in one hand, "Let's play Yu-Gotta-Go."

"No thanks," Chuckie refused as Shenzi shook her head, "I refuse to be a victim to this crass merchandising." The black-haired girl silently shrugged with a little nod of agreement. "... And what're you left with? A very expensive set of cards."

"I won't play either, Tommy," Harold decided, then perked up, "But I'd really like to watch." He then walked away from the table with the purple-haired boy, leaving the two best friends alone.

"So, um..." Shenzi shifted her position, so she was across from him, "Want to play a round of chess with me?"

"Okay, sure," He nodded, and they arranged the pieces.

Shenzi went with white, since they were closer to her. "I don't understand what makes Yu-Gotta-Go that special," She remarked, while moving one white piece.

"Me neither," Chuckie agreed with her, as he moved a black piece, "I mean, it's just a card franchise. It's not a vital necessity for life or anything."

"People just get obsessive over little things like that," She shrugged, "I'm just glad that no one in my family does that."

"Lucky," He remarked, "Kimi's obsessed with those dumb cards, although she doesn't wear the logo or talk about the franchise constantly."

As the day went by, the two friends were practically bombarded with Yu-Gotta-Go franchise from the other students, including their friends, to a lesser extent. Shenzi hoped that her best friend wouldn't get sucked into the hype. If only she knew what was going to happen in two days, and what was really running through his mind.

* * *

Two days later, Shenzi walked outside to goof off after acing a math test. But what she saw almost made her drop her backpack on the sidewalk; Chuckie, holding Yu-Gotta-Go cards! What happened to him thinking they were overrated like she did?! She sat at a table a distance away, secretly observing the battle Chuckie was going to have with a boy she didn't recognize.

"You won!" She heard Lil say to the rehead.

"I did! I won!" Shenzi stayed quiet as her friends celebrated his victory. Although she did admit, the fact that he won his first battle (as far as she knew) was pretty impressive. "Okay, who's next?" That made her sigh in defeat. It was official; He was sucked into the hype. She watched silently as he won battle after battle until the study hall period was over. Since when was he this good at the game? She didn't get it. Even though her best friend fell into the Yu-Gotta-Go trap, she was going to steer clear.

The next day, he was still at it. She changed into black jeggings, black and pink checkerboard Vans, a pink belt, black skeleton hand earrings, a pink extension, a black cropped jacket, and a pink buffalo plaid cropped camisole, she walked outside and saw him playing yet again. Not to mention he had way more cards than before? How could he afford them all? During his next game, he seemed to be in a daze, yet managed to make impressive moves at the same time. After he won, he performed a silly victory dance on the bench as the unfortunate competitor walked away. She knew that Frankie and their parents wondered where she was, but brushed it aside; She could explain later.

"Uh oh; The Shark!" She heard Tommy say, as a boy with a purple Mohawk approached the table.

Shenzi was very surprised when Chuckie lost, then even more so when The Shark took all his cards! She didn't think that was fair at all. When he sat against the building, she and Tommy went to check on him. "It felt so great to be as strong as... as Yu-Got. I just got to get it back, you guys." He stood up, now filled with determination.

"But you can't beat The Shark," Tommy pointed out, "He's got better cards than you."

"Surprise, surprise," Shenzi muttered to herself, "He took them all, the jerk."

"He does now, but wait 'til I surprise him with my Red Mirror Dragon card! The Fin-Star will not be denied!"

"The Fin-Star?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm trying out new nicknames."

"But you don't have The Red Mirror Dragon," Tommy pointed out.

"Not yet, but I will. Yep; Metal-Mouth will taste victory again."

"Uh, Metal-Mouth?" Tommy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not a good one either? How about: The Crimson Destroyer?" Tommy and Shenzi's silence told him otherwise.

"Chuckie, just forget about Yu-Gotta-Go, okay?" The purple-haired boy tried to convince him, but the redhead's determined grin told him and the black-haired girl that he wasn't going to listen.

"Oh boy," She sighed, "He's lost it."

"Eeyep," He agreed with her.

* * *

After school was out, Shenzi and Tommy ran to the Finster house, and were shocked at seeing the messy living room. All the couch cushions were on the floor, as were various boxes, and the rug was disheveled. "He was looking for change to buy more Yu-Gotta-Go cards," Kimi explained to them.

"Where is he now?" Shenzi asked her, but a commotion coming from upstairs caught their attention.

They went up the stairs and to Chuckie's room, where the redhead was throwing everything out of his closet. "I'm worried about him, you guys," Kimi said.

"Broken, broken, broken," Chuckie was repeated as he threw various items out on the floor.

"What're you doing, Chuckie?" Shenzi asked him.

"Looking for something to sell," He replied, "Oh, hi, guys. Shen, you want my old light-up sneaker?"

"Do they stink?" She raised an eyebrow, with her hands on her slightly bared hips.

"No," He replied, then sniffed them, "A little." He tossed the shoe behind his back. "I really need that Red Mirror Dragon card!" He turned back to the closet. "Aha! My set of Happy Blocks!"

"That's _my_ set of Happy Blocks," Tommy pointed out.

"It is?" He glanced down at them. "You want to buy it back?" Shenzi scowled at him. He then tossed them back in the closet and dug around some more.

"Hey, come on! All our friends are down at the mall," Tommy said, "Let's go join them."

"The mall?" Chuckie leaned back to look at them, now eager. "Perfect! Betty Katie's All-Star Collectibles has Yu-Gotta-Go cards!"

"I don't like what this game's done to you, Chuckie," Shenzi remarked.

"Me neither," Tommy agreed with her.

"It hasn't done anything; Except make my heart race with excitement. Give me goosebumps all over my arms."

"Chuck, you don't need those dumb cards to feel that way," Shenzi pointed out, "You just think you do."

"Why don't you work on your stamp collection instead?" Kimi suggested. "Dad said it was really valuable."

"It is?" Chuckie perked up.

Kimi, Tomy, and Shenzi glanced at each other. "Uh oh," The Goth girl muttered.

"No," Kimi replied nervously.

Chuckie grabbed the book Chaz gave him, and tried to run out of the room, but the three stopped him. "Are you nuts?! You can't sell your dad's stamps!" Shenzi exclaimed.

"Yeah, Chuckie!" Kimi agreed with her. "Dad will go ballistic! You know how vein-y his head gets."

"I'm not selling the whole thing," Chuckie told them, "I'll just trade one teensy little stamp for one deck of cards!"

"If you do, you'll be sorry," Tommy said, "Someday you're going to look in that mirror, and you're not going to like what you see."

"What else is new?" He retorted, before backing away in his room. "Alright," He decided, "I can't do it." But when Shenzi, Tommy, and Kimi exchanged joy from helping him, he suddenly dashed out. "Yeah, I can!"

"Hey!" They all yelled out, and ran after him. Shenzi tried to grab his leg, but when she dove down, he just barely dodged her hands.

* * *

"Okay, we've got a break," Tommy reported back to the others in the arcade, a while after they arrived at the mall, "Chuckie got sidetracked trying on..." He paused when he saw Dil on the groove machine, "... Yu-Gotta-Go sunglasses," He finished, "We can't let him near..." He paused again, distracted by the music, "...near Betty Katie's All-Star Collectibles. Dil!"

The orange-haired boy simply kept dancing on the machine. "A-a-and split!" Dil finished with an impressive split, unintentionally associated with a tearing sound, just when Lil turned the music off. With that, the group walked away. "Uh oh. My pants." After standing up, he tied his Sherpa hat around his waist like a sweatshirt, and followed them.

"Sorry guys, but I just don't see how this is my problem," Angelica refused after the gang approached her at the cell phone cases kiosk.

"You're the one who started my brother playing that game," Kimi pointed out.

"Hey, it's not my fault he has no self-control. Someone waved a shiny object in front of his face, and he blindly followed." She then turned to the kiosk. "Oh! Metallic pink!" She grabbed a phone case from the shelf. "That's a yes!"

"There he is," Tommy pointed out when Chuckie strided up to them, but walked past. His glasses were crooked on his face, clearly indicating that he lost his common sense.

"Hey Chuck, let's go to the pet store, and watch the fighting fish eat each other," Phil suggested.

"No thanks."

"You know what we haven't done in a long time? Going to one of the movie theaters, and moon!" Lil tried, but didn't get a response.

"How about we go to the tuxedo store, and swap heads on the mannequins?" Dil attempted another distraction.

"Sounds good, but not today."

"Hey! You, me, and Astros on Planets on Terror Wheel?" Tommy suggested. "I'll spawn you 4 whole points!" Chuckie ran right past him. "Okay, 6!"

"You seem hungry! How's about we get a hamburger?" Shenzi tried. "Some food will do you good!" Little did everyone else know, she was expressing her desire to really have a hamburger with him. And when I say "have a hamburger", I mean go on a date.

"Sounds tempting, but no thanks." She slumped in disappointment. "I know what you guys are trying to do, and I appreciate it," Chuckie turned to them, "But I know what I'm doing." He then walked in the collectibles store.

"You guys wait here," Tommy told the others, "I'd better do this alone." He went to follow the redhead, but Shenzi's voice stopped him.

"I'm going too," She decided, "He's my best friend as well as yours. We'll help him together." The two then walked in the store, where Chuckie already received a deck of cards.

"Got it. Got it. Got it. Not a Red Mirror Dragon in the bunch!"

"Well, you tried," Shenzi shrugged, "Now let's go."

"Another deck, my good man," Chuckie handed the employee another stamp.

"Ohh!" She groaned with a facepalm.

"Chuckie!" Tommy glared at him.

After a while, the store's floor was littered with plastic wrap, and Yu-Gotta-Go cards. "Last one, I swear!" Tommy shook his head, as Shenzi hid hers, and the redhead was disappointed yet again. "One more!"

"Ugh!" Shenzi threw her head back in frustration.

"The Red Mirror Dragon's gotta be here! It just has to!" He went to trade the last stamp, but a small, purplish-grey hand stopped him.

"Chuckie, no!" She protested, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Here," The teen boy tossed him the last deck in the store, and Chuckie caught it with eagerness.

"Please, please, please!" He said to himself as he looked through the cards, but his face fell an he dropped the cards in despair.

"I'm sorry, Chuckie," Tommy laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, along with Shenzi.

But then, something caught the redhead's eye. "There's still one pack left!"

"What're you going to buy it with?" Tommy asked him. "You sold your last stamp." The water fountain, where the others waited, outside the store suddenly caught Chuckie's eye.

"Are you crazy?!" Shenzi exclaimed. Now, he was swiping coins from the fountain!

"Chuckie, you're going to get in trouble," Kimi looked around nervously.

"Hey, what cheapskate threw a button in here?!"

"That's it; Shen, we're going in." Tommy and the Goth girl walked into the fountain, Shenzi taking off her shoes and rolling up her jeans first.

"5, 6, 7..." Chuckie counted the coins he grabbed and stashed in his shirt like a pouch, "Dime number 8!"

"Remember what I said about looking in the mirror, and not liking what you see?" Tommy reminded him. "Well look, Chuckie. _Look._ What do you see?"

Chuckie looked in the water at his reflection, but something else averted his attention. "A silver dollar!" He picked it up, but Tommy's disappointed look, and Shenzi's glare made him drop it back in. "Look at me. I'm stealing coins from a fountain." He dumped all the coins back in the water. "How many children's wishes have I destroyed? I just wanted to feel like a winner. And for once, I feel like somebody. Tommy, Shenzi, I could've been The Crimson Destroyer."

"You _are_ somebody," Tommy said, then turned to the others, "To us."

"You're the best big brother," Kimi started.

"We're here for you, Chuckie," Lil added.

"I'll treat you to a zebra smoothie," Phil offered.

"Owe to the aqua, dude," Dil added in his two cents.

With hope, Chuckie turned to Shenzi, who bent down, ignoring her jeans getting slightly wet, and embraced him. "You're the greatest friend anyone could ask for." She drew back after a few seconds.

"Thanks, guys. And thanks Tommy, Shen. You were right. I _do_ have a problem. A _big_ problem! I traded away Dad's stamp collection; He is gonna _kill_ me!"

Just then, Angelica came up to them. "Finster, you freak! That money's for seeing eye dogs!"

"What're you doing here?" Kimi asked her.

"I got thinking about what it's like to be hooked on something; Chuckie and his cards, me and my phone, and hey, if we're not there for each other for the bad times, then what kind of friends are we?"

"Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone what was in your diary," Chuckie assured her.

"Wait, what?" Shenzi raised an eyebrow, but was unnoticed.

"Oh. Well, see ya." Angelica grabbed her shopping bag, and started walking away.

"Yet...?" Kimi stopped her.

"Okay," The blonde sighed in defeat, "What do you want?"

"Chuckie sold all his dad's stamps for cards, and no way they'll give them back," Tommy explained, as Chuckie nodded to confirm.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

"I don't know what to say, you guys," Chuckie glanced at everyone in the group, with the book containing all of Chaz's stamps in his hands, "Except... I am off Yu-Gotta-Go forever!" He suddenly stopped walking, getting everyone's attention. He looked back at the collectibles store, his temptation coming back, but Shenzi and Kimi held onto his arms.

"Keep walking, Chuck," Shenzi said, moving her hand up and down soothingly, "Just keep walking. Don't look back." On the way back to the Finster house, she kept him calm until his temptation would leave him. When they arrived, Kimi followed the two in.

* * *

"I'm really glad you got over that stupid franchise," Shenzi remarked as she and Chuckie had hamburgers at the mall later that week.

"Me too," He agreed with her.

"Although... I'm also glad you got that dragon card you were obsessively looking for."

"Thanks," He chuckled, "I'll just display it as a collectible."

"Sounds like a plan," She nodded, "And um... you know how I suggested we do this to keep you distracted from the cards?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "Why?"

"Well... it wasn't just to distract you," She admitted, "At that time, like now... I wanted to do that for real."

"Really?"

"Yeah," She confirmed, "At that time, it was... wishful thinking."

"Well, your wish came true," He shrugged, "We're having hamburgers now."

"Yep," She nodded with a giggle, "This is really fun."

"It is," He agreed with her, "And now that I'm over Yu-Gotta-Go, I don't understand what's so great about it."

"I never understood it, personally," Shenzi shrugged, "I mean they're cards, not medicine."

"True," He nodded, "I'm just glad I'm over it."

"Me too," She agreed after swallowing a pickle slice, "Although... that Red Mirror Dragon is pretty cool."

"Yep, but it'll just be a collectible from this day on."

"Good. And like me and our friends said earlier... you're somebody to us... especially me." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, making him blush.

"Thanks Shen," He smiled shyly, "And... you're somebody to me too, and all our friends. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Thanks, Chuck."

* * *

 **(A/N: Y is done; Only 1 more to go now! You know the disclaimer.)**


	26. Z: Zoinks

**(A/N: This last, super long oneshot is based off of the Scooby-Doo theatrical film from 2002, so it'll be very similar; Just a heads-up. I've wanted to do this for a long time. Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **Z- Zoinks**

Summary: After a group of mystery-solving friends, graduating from high school, break up due to contrasting personalities and roles, they're individually invited to Spooky Island Resort to investigate strange happenings. Will they get back together through it all, or is their friendship over for good? 

* * *

**Wow-O Toy Factory**

 **The Case of The Luna Ghost**

"Let go of me!" 16-year-old Shenzi Tuck exclaimed as the Luna Ghost had captured her. Again. It was carrying her so she was facing behind its back, under its arm like books, as she kicked her legs. "Okay, now I really have a wedgie. Sean! Lil! Can you guys hurry up?! This stupid ghost keeps grabbing- Hey! Please!" The ghost was floating in the air, occasionally bouncing on beams, as it carried the Goth girl.

The black small hoop earrings in her pointy ears swayed ever so slightly from her movements. Her black floral shirt was cropped, and her pink tutu skirt with black and white striped waistband didn't exactly reach it, especially since she was bent over, so the ghost's long fringe was brushing her bare skin on her side and back. It wasn't a pleasant feeling; It tickled quite a bit. She clenched her teeth as she harshly elbowed the ghost's back. Her black boyshorts had been riding up under her skirt and black petticoat the whole time, but before long, the ghost finally landed on the floor.

"Uh oh," 16-year-old Lil DeVille muttered, "Again?" She took out her walkie-talkie. "Sean? Come in, Sean. Can you hear me?"

"Seanster here, L," 17-year-old Sean Butler replied in his headset, as he checked himself out in a mirror.

"Shockingly, Shenzi's been captured again, but that's okay. When the ghost rounds the corner with her, Chuckie and Spike will jump out of the barrel..."

"And you'll activate the conveyor belt, spilling the oil on the floor," Sean finished.

"Just remember my plan."

"Spike, chill out," 17-year-old Chuckie Finster whispered to the dog, whose tail was sticking out through a hole in the barrel, "Stop shaking! Wait... sorry, it's actually me." The ghost then blew fire on the barrel, just barely missing it, but slightly igniting Spike's tail. The Siberian Tiger Hound shot up and blew the fire out, the barrel lid landed on his head. Chuckie then straightened up, unaware of who was behind him, after Spike yelped in terror. "Spike, what're you doing? This is no time to..." He stopped when the dog mimed the presence behind him. "There's a ghost right behind me, isn't there?" Spike nodded, so Chuckie fearfully turned around. "Run!" Lil activated the conveyor belt, so some oil spilled on the floor, but when he tried to dash off, his feet were slipping, so he wasn't going anywhere.

"Sean, no-o-o-ow-w-w!" Lil gave the brunette boy the signal.

"I got it!" Sean went to turn on the hose, but Spike and Chuckie crashed into him. As the ghost floated in the air with Shenzi, who was now gagged with her own black scarf, he turned on the hose, but narrowly missed his target, spraying Lil instead.

The brunette girl flailed her arms in panic, then fell head-first off the cat walk, but a chain around her ankles kept her from landing. "SE-E-E-EA-A-A-AN!"

Then, the net meant to catch the ghost landed on Sean, surprising him into turning the hose off. "Sorry, Lil."

"I know, Sean," Lil crossed her arms as she dangled upside down.

"Where's the ghost?!" Chuckie exclaimed, the barrel blocking his view. He then stepped on a skateboard and after multiple dodges of sharp blades and riding up one curved wall like a ramp, they crashed into the ghost and landed in a knocked-down pile of dolls.

The two brunettes ran up to their friends in concern. "Shenzi, you okay?" Lil asked her.

The black-haired girl unveiled herself from the pile, and pulled her scarf down. Her black roses headband was disheveled from the landing. "I am _so_ over this damsel in distress nonsense," She replied in annoyance, adjusting her black cat-eye prescription glasses.

"Where's Chuckster?" Sean wondered aloud.

Chuckie then popped up from the pile, his purple rectangular glasses disheveled and his long, red hair over his face. "Right here!" Spike then popped up next to him. "Hey Spike, that was fun! Let's grab another skateboard, and go for round two, huh?" The dog nodded in agreement, excitement evident in his face.

All of a sudden, their van crashed through the factory walls. Then to everyone's surprise, Emica exited the van from the driver's side, followed by news reporters and fangirls aiming to get Sean's autograph. "There you go. One for you. Good-looking guy. Alright, nice to see you."

Emica walked up to, and embraced the brunette boy. "Thanks so much for saving the factory."

"Emica, any comments for us?" A reporter asked her.

"This is a victory for any celebrity who wants to make a quality, ecologically-friendly action figure," She made her comment for the press.

"Sean, what's the secret of your success?"

"Teamwork," He replied, "I do a tremendous amount of teamwork." Lil's small smile quickly faded away; He was taking the credit for her planning. "And I always have a plan. Come on."

"Yeah, _my_ plan," She said to herself dejectedly.

"I knew from the beginning there was never a phantom," Sean walked up to the ghost, who was pulled up by two police officers, "The Luna Ghost is in fact..." He pulled the mask off, revealing a middle-aged man.

"Mr. Smithers?" Lil, Chuckie, and Shenzi said simultaneously in shock, Lil sounding unfazed.

"My tour bus' creepy driver?" Emica added, looking uncomfortable.

"Smithers wanted revenge after you refused to go out with him," Sean explained.

"How could you, Velma? I am a lover of George Clooney-an proportions."

"Sean, how was the ghost able to fly?" The reporter asked the leader of the group.

"I can answer that," Lil chimed in, walking up to the "ghost," "Watch." She and Sean tore the costme down, revealing a metal suit with balloons on the arms and torso. "These balloons fill with a highly potent helium synthesis. Giving the Luna Ghost..." She pressed a button on the suit, making the balloons inflate. "His weightless appearance.

This caused Smithers to start floating straight up in the air. "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids... ...and your dumb dog! I'll get you for this!"

* * *

"Sean, I can't believe you took credit for _my_ plan again," Lil berated the leader of their group, as they walked to the van, which was parked back outside the factory entrance.

"Some plan; That creep pawed me for an hour and a half," Shenzi remarked with a shiver.

"It's not our fault you always get kidnapped," Sean pointed out.

"I do not always get kidnapped," She glared at him, with her hands on her hips.

"Please," Lil scoffed with an eye roll, "You come with your own ransom note."

"Hey you guys," Chuckie piped up before anyone could get physical, "I know I'm just the guy that carries the bags, but... we all play an important part in this group. We're like a banana split; Sean, you're the big banana. Shenzi, you're the chocolate and gum-flavored ice cream. And Lil... you're the cherry that goes on top. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

They stayed quiet, before Lil spoke up. "You know what, Chuckie? You really put it in perspective for me."

"Thanks," He smiled.

But then, she looked emotionally hurt. "I quit."

"No," Chuckie quietly protested.

"You can't quit!" Shenzi exclaimed. "I was going to quit in two seconds! Now everyone'll think I copied the smart one."

"Whoa, now, wait a minute," Sean spoke up, "Maybe I quit too. Yeah," He nodded, "I quit." He walked to his own car.

"I'm out of here," Shenzi then walked to hers, intentionally bumping Lil's shoulder.

"Good riddance." With that, the last of the three walked off to her car.

"No," Chuckie protested again, "Don't go. Guys, don't do this." He sighed sadly, then looked down at Spike. "Well boy, looks like it's just you and me for a while." He entered the van, and started driving away from the scene.

* * *

Two years passed, and the gang were still on their separate paths. 19-year-old Chuckie didn't want to admit it, but he missed Shenzi more than Sean and Lil put together. Why? He was, and still is, in love with her. Her long, black hair, her sparkling eyes (although she hid one under her long bangs, due to one being green and one being blue), her sweet smile, her fun personality, everything about her entranced him. During the time away, he confessed this secret to Spike, who seemed supportive and sympathetic. He listened intently as Chuckie vented about how he wanted to run his fingers through her soft locks, with her tiny lips against his.

"I'm looking for a Mr. Finster, with a dog named Spike," He and Spike heard an unfamiliar voice outside the van, where they were currently cooking turkey and cheese sandwiches on a grill, letting the smoke billow out through the sunroof. "The detectives?"

"Uh oh," Chuckie muttered, "Must be someone looking for us to solve some freaky mystery. Uh, nobody home! Quick Spike-o, grab the food-o, let's scram-o!"

"I'm looking for a Mr. Finster, with a dog named Spike."

"Let's go!" The two jumped out of the van, but encountered a man they didn't recognize. "Sorry, guy. I'd love to help you out. You seem really nice, but we're not detectives anymore."

"I've been sent by Mr. Emile Mondevarious to invite you to his world famous amusement park, Spooky Island."

"We don't go near places with "spooky," "haunted," or "creepy" in the name."

"But he'd like you to solve a mystery. He'll pay you a fee of $10,000."

"That sounds great, but materialism isn't really our thing."

"Free airfare."

"No thanks."

"Room and board."

"Mm, no thanks."

"And... all you can eat."

The two were sold at that.

* * *

At the airport, 19-year-old Sean looked around for the check-in, for his flight to Spooky Island, after going through security. "Sean?" He heard 18-year-old Lil's surprised-sounding voice.

"Lil? Are you going this way?"

The brunette girl nodded nervously. "How have you...?" She drew out awkwardly.

"Been?" He finished.

"Yes," She nodded.

"Great, great," He replied, "I'm on the lecture circuit with my new book: Sean on Sean: The Many Faces of Me."

"Impressive," She raised her eyebrows.

"And yourself?"

"I started coaching the middle school's soccer team," Lil replied, "We're going in the state finals."

"State finals?"

"Charter service to Spooky Island will begin boarding momentarily," They heard the announcement for their flight.

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm not interested!" They heard a familiar, female voice. They looked at the check-in desk, and saw 18-year-old Shenzi looking annoyed.

"Shen?" Sean blurted out.

"Oh no," She muttered, before glaring at them, "I'm not talking to you guys." She then looked back at the desk, but turned back to them. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lil asked her. "We all received the same letter from Mondevarious, inviting us to Spooky Island."

"Seriously?" Shenzi threw her hands out, then sighed heavily. "You're kidding me. I was going to solve the mystery all by myself for the first time."

"How're you going to save yourself when you get kidnapped?" Sean smirked.

"I've been taking martial arts lessons for two years now," Shenzi glared, "I've transformed my body into a dangerous weapon." Her blood boiled when the brunettes snickered. "It's true!"

"Hey!" Chuckie exclaimed happily upon seeing his friends together, especially a certain one. "I guess we're all heading for Spooky Island!"

"Spike's allowed on the plane?" Shenzi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Y-yeah," He shrugged, feeling happy to hear her voice again, "Big dogs aren't allowed, but he's not in that category." She nodded in understanding.

"Flight 3774 to Spooky Island, now boarding."

"Listen, I wouldn't have agreed to come if I knew," Lil confessed.

"Wait! Let's all just think for a moment," Chuckie stopped them from leaving, "We'll be a team again, just like the old days. Come on. Let's put our hands in, and go _yeah!_ Huh?"

The three hesitated, before Shenzi spoke up. "O-only if Sean and Lil do it."

Sean stayed quiet for a second. "People are watching, Chuck." Lil then strutted away in a dignified way. Chuckie looked at Shenzi with hope, but she slowly turned and walked back to the desk, where her carryon bag was.

He sighed sadly, before he looked down at Spike. "Come on, buddy." He patted his leg and headed for the boarding area, so the dog followed him obediently.

After a while, the plane took off, heading for Spooky Island. "Not interested," Shenzi hissed to a creepy guy sitting too close to her for comfort, "I like someone else." Who is that someone else, you ask? Chuckie Finster, that's who! Due to pride, she didn't want to admit that throughout the last two years, she missed him. His long, red hair, his adorable freckles, his beautiful brown eyes framed by his glasses, and his overall appealing personality always made her heart skip.

While Chuckie was thinking about how great it was to see Shenzi again, a scent caught Spike's nose; A cat. He hated cats! He started barking at the cat, so it hissed it him. He then jumped down from his seat, and ran after it. "Sit, Spike!" Chuckie tried to command him. "Bad Spike! Don't eat the kitty!"

* * *

A while after the issue was solved, the plane finally landed at its destination. "Welcome to Spooky Island... ...the frightfully popular spring break spot for college students. Catch our Electrical Torture Parade. It's a Dead World After All. And the world famous Splatterhorn." The group walked up to the talking statue, which had moving arms. "Spike Finster! And Sean, Lil, Shenzi, Chuckie. It's marvelous to see you all! How fanta..." Its arm hit a college girl by accident. "I'm sorry! That's the second time this week. Thank goodness." A strange man jumped out from behind the statue. "It's a new toy. I'm just getting up to speed with it. Welcome."

Shenzi caught up with the group, struggling with her luggage. "Phew!" She puffed out. "Thank goodness. I thought I would have to lug all these to the hotel."

"I can hel..." Chuckie started to offer, but was cut off. She did look at him, feeling surprised, yet flattered.

"That's what Spooky Island's about," The man interrupted him, "Realizing your worst fears. I'm Emile Mondevarious, the owner of this amusement park." He shook the black-haired girl's hand.

"You seem less..." Lil began a remark.

"Spooky," Chuckie added in.

"Then we were expecting," Lil finished.

"I can be pretty spooky when called upon. I can go: Claws and everything. Grr! You wouldn't want to run into me in a dark alley."

"So, you're the one who brought us here," Lil concluded.

"No. What brought you here was your insatiable appetite, for a juicy mystery." He then started leading the gang to the hotel.

"The truth is, Mr. Mondavarious," Shenzi caught up with him, "Our group is... broken up."

"That's the beauty of something broken. It can be fixed. Therein lies its potential. And I need you to fix Spooky Island."

"What's the problem?" Lil asked him.

"I believe somebody's casting a spell on the students. Now listen and look around. Notice any difference between those arriving and those departing?" They passed by a line of college students, just standing in place and not doing anything.

"They look like sober, well-behaved college kids," Lil pointed out.

"Precisely. They didn't before they came. They've changed. In other words, a magic spell." They then witnessed a boy trying to reconnect with the girl at the front of the line, but ended up being thrown away on the sand, literally.

"I'm terrified," Mr. Mondavarious regained their attention, "The young people that come off that barge, the people I love the most, they're in danger."

"I'm going to solve this one first," Lil announced with determination.

"Not before I solve it first," Sean retorted.

"You guys will look like idiots when I'm the one rescuing you," Shenzi added with as much pride as she could muster. Although it wasn't a lot, judging by her averting gaze. She then walked to the hotel with her luggage on hand.

"Thank you. Marvelous. Maybe we can celebrate later by having a little spookapalooza."

"Spooka-what-a?" Chuckie raised an eyebrow after snapping his gaze away from Shenzi.

"I saw that," Mr. Mondavarious teased him, "You like that girl, don't you? The one with the glasses?"

"Y-yes I do," He nodded after making sure no one else was listening. Feeling a bit uneasy, he fast-walked to the hotel with Spike.

* * *

After the sky turned dark, Shenzi began exploring the island on her own, determined to find some clues to solve the mystery by herself. She wanted to prove that she was more than the damsel-in-distress in the group. Although he probably didn't, she hoped that Chuckie didn't think that of her.

She then heard somebody say weird words in a shack on the beach. Curious, she went to investigate, and saw a black man in the shack, with a dead chicken hanging on the ceiling. She hated to interrupt whatever he was doing, but she needed any clue she could get to solve the mystery. "E-excuse me?"

"Hey!" He yelled in surprise, then turned to look at her. "What are you doing?! Now I have to start my voodoo ritual all over again!"

"Voodoo ritual?"

"Yes! Voodoo ritual! I was about to sacrifice this chicken."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Uh, that chicken's not alive."

"I know the chicken's not alive, you smart little girl. What, did you figure that out when you saw it didn't have a head?"

"No," She shook her head, "It was from..."

"What do you want? Why are you all up in the voodoo ritual space?"

"I'm looking for clues to solve the mystery of the college students' strange behavior."

"Here's a clue for ya: Black is a Halloween color. It's June!"

"Say what?" She furrowed her eyebrows again.

"Do yourself a favor and get off this island. Go home. Go home before evil befalls your skinny, little aerobicized booty." She glanced at her backside. "And whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do _not_ go into the Spooky Island castle."

"Pfft, don't go in the spooky castle," She scoffed, "I've heard that before. Just watch me." With that, she strided away.

"What in the world?" The voodoo maestro muttered to himself.

On the way to the castle, she had Chuckie and Spike tag along, although didn't mention the part about where they were going. After some convincing, they followed her inside.

While in there, they ran into Sean and Lil, along with some clues. Sean found some weird footprints, he and Lil saw a training video on how to "behave properly" in a room that looked like one for a class in schools, and Shenzi found an artifact in one of the rooms. There was a trap for it, but she just barely escaped. When they heard people coming, they quickly posed as the mannequins in the castle ride, and overheard them talking about something called the "Daemon Ritus." As Mexican wrestler Zarkos berated one of the henchmen, Shenzi internally concluded that the Daemon Ritus was the artifact she found.

They returned to the hotel, and provided clues and named suspects for Mr. Mondavarious, who happened to be one of them. But while Shenzi and Chuckie were busy, three demons came crashing in the hotel, through the windows and roof! Various college students in the lobby, plus Sean and Lil, were captured after getting knocked out by their green breath. Shenzi just barely managed to grab the Daemon Ritus before anyone else could, and stashed it back in her purse, before catching up with Chuckie and Spike.

After the three managed to escape, and hid in large vases, the demons dragged their prisoners away to the castle. "What are those things? What do they want with the college kids?" Shenzi wondered aloud. "We have to follow them."

Chuckie looked at her with a baffled expression. "Say _what?_ "

"Defeat them, and save Sean and Lil. They figured out everything. Now it's our turn, Chuckie. For the first time, they're the damsels in distress, not me." She went to step out of the vase, but she lost her balance and fell forward. "Oomph! He-help?" Chuckie immediately came to her aid. "Thanks, Chuck." They hid by the entrance to the castle, where the demons hauled their victims inside.

"I'll call for help," Chuckie went to take out his phone, but Shenzi stopped him.

"No! I got this," She assured him, "I got this." But then, the entrance was closed tight. "I don't got this." Chuckie then called the coast guard, and explained what happened. Although instead of mention monsters, he said their friends were kidnapped, which was actually true. After he hung up, Shenzi spoke up. "Okay, let's wait on the beach. But... I have to use the little girl's room first."

"Take your time," He nodded, "I'll meet you by the pier."

"'Kay," She agreed, and headed for the hotel. After using the bathroom in her hotel room, she changed into Alice in Wonderland skirted swim bottoms, a polar blue extension, black leather sandals, and a short, black tankini top that went down to half an inch below her belly button. She grabbed her black and purple corset purse, which had the Daemon Ritus hidden, and headed back out to the pier, where Chuckie was waiting for her. "I'm back," She shrugged.

"Y-yep," He stammered, "So now, we wait for help to come."

They waited for a while, until fatigue took over, so they decided to get some sleep. Spike had drifted off while Shenzi was in the hotel. After taking the artifact out, she used her purse as a pillow on the sand, laid her head on it, and was out like a light, with her glasses still on her face. Chuckie couldn't help but watch as she slept peacefully. The Daemon Ritus was in her hands. She looked so lovely in the moonlight; And she looked pretty sexy in that swimsuit too. He then fell asleep himself, carefully laying his head on Spike, and staying close to her.

* * *

The next morning, Shenzi was startled awake by something bumping into her head. She sat up and looked behind her back, but to her confusion, the hotel looked good as new. There was no damage whatsoever. "What the-? Hey, Chuckie." She gently nudged him awake.

"Huh? What's wrong, Shen?" He looked back, and saw the hotel. "Wha-what happened to the damages?"

"Yo, Goth!" A college girl exclaimed to Shenzi. "Ball?"

She threw the ball back to the blonde girl, then glanced at Chuckie and Spike, who woke up at the same time as the redhead. "Let's go." As they walked along the sand, the band Sugar Ray was performing their song "Words to Me" for the students. "Okay, we should split up."

"Why?"

"We need to find Sean and Lil. You go that way," She pointed to his right, and slightly behind his back.

"O-okay," He stammered, then walked that way. "Come on, Spike." The dog hesitantly followed him, as Shenzi walked the other way. She looked among the college students for any clues, but Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath caugh her attention. She couldn't help butsmile as he kept his focus on her through the song. But after a few seconds, she realized that he was possessed by the demons, and that she had eyes for someone else, and quickly walked away, confusing him.

She checked the womens' locker room, but hastily ran out at what, or _who,_ was in there; Lil, in makeup and a bikini, dancing with other girls in bikinis! But turned out, she was possessed by the demons like McGrath, as evidenced by the roar she released. But when she turned around after closing the door, Zarkos was right in front of her! "Aha! Damsel in distress!" He taunted her, grabbed her left arm, and practically threw her down on his knee, so she was almost in a 90 degree angle.

"Let go of me! Chuckie! Help!" She grunted in frustration as he swiped the Daemon Ritus from her purse. Her head fell back as she tried to escape his grip, but he seemed to be... turned on by her struggling, and the position he forced her in. "Let me go, you big jerk!" What made her really uncomfortable was; From being bent back, more of her flat belly was revealed, including the bottom of her navel. Why wasn't he letting her go?! She growled in frustration as she clawed at his hand that kept her down.

"Aww, what's the matter, seniorita?" He taunted her some more. "Your little swim top too small?" To her dismay, he started poking at her bare belly.

Her breath hitched, and she couldn't hold back the giggles. "Eehehehehe!" She dug her black-polished nails in his arm, but he was unfazed, as she stomped her feet. His finger teasingly tickled her belly, and even her bare side. She now regretted wearing such a short swim top. "Stop!" Then without warning, Zarkos swung her up on his shoulder, and walked away from the locker room. "Hey! Put me down!" She punched his back and kicked his chest, but they did nothing to help her.

After encountering an entrance to a secret underground cave, where Spike fell in, Chuckie looked for him, but a familiar voice made him freeze. It sounded like Shenzi; She was captured? He laid back against the wall, and saw the black-haired girl restricted on a post with her arms up like the upper half of an X, so her swim top shimmied up. Her semi-deep curves and belly button were revealed for whoever was there to see. Dread filled him up when he saw who looked like the Mexican wrestler from the castle walk up to her as she struggled in her bonds. "My friend from America told me about you, seniorita. Pangborn has good taste." Her eyes widened in horror; He knew Pangborn, her former middle school vice principal/gym coach? He had a thing for tickling her and her only, so that explained a lot. Chuckie's eyes widened as well; He wanted to run in and help her, but he was paralyzed with fear. Because that guy in front of her could snap him in half with a toothpick.

"Yeah well, he got arrested," She spat at him, "And if you don't let me go, you'll suffer the same fate."

"I like 'em feisty," Zarkos poked at her belly again, just below her belly button. "You're as pretty as Pangborn described to me."

"Eehehe!" She giggled helplessly, and struggled some more.

"You leave her alone," Chuckie whispered angrily, but it was drowned by her giggles.

Shenzi's skin shuddered and her giggles turned into laughter as he tickled her bare sides and hairless armpits at a tortuously slow pace. When he stuck one wiggling finger in her belly button, pushing her swim top up a little bit, she thrashed so hard that her bonds almost broke, but he stopped before they could.

She panted as he walked up to the controls for an intimidating pincer, and shined the light as it was aimed at her chest. "Uh oh," She squeaked out in fear. To hers and Chuckie's horror, the pincer sucked out her protoplasm! She slumped unconscious as the pincer drew away her protoplasmic head. "Hey! Put back my protoplasm!" She exclaimed. "You're a big jerk! Capital J-E-R-Oh!" She was cut off by getting dropped in the protoplasm vat. "K."

Chuckie helplessly watched in horror as one of the demons possessed her body. "Shenzi" was let down from the post, and walked out of his sight with the henchmen, then Zarkos. Once the cave was vacant, Chuckie sneaked over to the vat, and his eyes widened at the alarming amount of protoplasmic heads floating around. After releasing Lil and Sean's protoplasms, he finally found the one he seeked most; Shenzi's. "Thanks Chuckie, but... put me back in. I-I'll find a way out myself."

"How?" He couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she looked without her glasses.

"I, I don't know," She stammered, "I'll uh... oh! I'll use my tongue as an oar to swim to the edge! Yeah!"

"Sorry Shen," Chuckie then let go of the protoplasm, sending it flying like the others.

He then spotted the Daemon Ritus on a rock on the other side of the vat. He then took it, and looked around the cave for Spike, but had no luck. While hiding it, he searched for the others outside, they could help him, and his eyes widened at the sight he saw; Shenzi, dancing among a bunch of college boys, who almost towered over her. Her hair was in two high ponytails and extension-free, she had black eyeshadow around her large eyes, and was in almost no clothes. She wore a plain black bikini with a triangle top and side-tie bottoms, a black crochet skirt cover over the bottoms, although it didn't do much, and a black short-sleeved crop top with all the buttons undone. She was barefoot, and her glasses weren't on her face. "She-Shenzi?" He stuttered, getting her attention.

"Hey, Chuckster!" She greeted him. This kind of slang wasn't like her at all. "Want to, like, get your groove on with my homeboys?" She swung her hips for a second, making his cheeks flush red even more. They almost matched his hair now.

"Uh," He stuttered, before shaking his head, "Shenzi, this isn't you!" He shook her by her shoulders. "I know you're in there, you monster! Get out of her body, now!"

"Hey!" She pushed him away in shock. "What's your problem, dog?"

Shaking his head in defeat, he continued his mission to find the others, in hopes that their protoplasms returned. Shrugging nonchalantly, Shenzi went back to dancing.

* * *

At the staff entrance, Lil's protoplasm returned to her body, making her fall face-up on the ground, and the monster came out in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock as blisters suddenly popped up all over its body, before it exploded. After a while, she saw Shenzi enter the same place she was heading to herself. Initially, she was puzzled at her slight lack of clothes, but concluded that she was possessed as well. She stealthily followed her, then glanced outside, where she saw a protoplasmic head coming their way. She just had to get the bikini-clad girl's attention. "Um... y-yo yo, _you_ yo." Shenzi walked up to her with a confused look, then Lil shoved her in the room next to them.

"What the- Ho'!" Shenzi was cut off by the protoplasm crashing in. She fell on a suede chair, and squirmed as the protoplasm took over. Lil shut the door as she watched the scene unfold before her.

She ran to the window as a demon came out of Shenzi, landing in front of her. Before it could do anything to her, Lil spoke up. "You could use a little sunlight." She pulled on the shutter blinds, so the sun shined in the room. The monster freaked out as blisters popped up, before it exploded. "That's one part of the mystery solved," She closed the blinds. "The creatures need our bodies to survive in sunlight. Like a human suit. SPF 1,000,000." As she made her conclusion, Shenzi stood up and, for some reason, looked freaked out as she stared at her shuddering hands. "What are they doing here in the first place?" She paused when the black-haired girl was silent. "Shenzi, you okay?"

"Yeah," She, or _he,_ replied nervously, before turning to the brunette girl, "But I'm not Shenzi!"

"Sean?" Lil's eyes widened.

Elsewhere, "Sean" was walking in the lobby, out of the mens' restroom, when Shenzi's protoplasm crashed into him against her (its?) will.

"I couldn't get to my body," Shenzi/Sean explained, "I didn't know where else to go; I panicked!" Lil shrugged in a "true" way. "It's not easy to steer when you're pure spirit." He then saw the sexy outfit Shenzi had been wearing before he entered her body. "Hey!" He perked up, getting Lil's attention back. "I can look at myself naked!"

"Oh God," Lil grimaced in disgust as she walked out. The brunette boy/black-haired girl sneaked a peek, before following her with eagerness.

Outside, Sean/Shenzi walked around the trees, feeling disgusted as he/she held her purse in one hand. He/She then spotted the girls, or girl and boy/girl, the latter who was feeling her up. "Get your hands off me!"

"Shenzi?"

"He planned this somehow, didn't he?"

"Hey, good-looking," Shenzi/Sean walked around the brunette boy/black-haired girl. Just then, Chuckie spotted them.

"Sean! You egocentric..."

"Please, tell me you guys are you," He got their attention.

"Sean keeps touching me!" Sean/Shenzi exclaimed.

"Kinda makes you nostalgic for the homicidal creatures, doesn't it?" Lil deadpanned.

"I stole this," Chuckie set the artifact on a tree stump, "I hope it helps."

"The Daemon Ritus," Lil remarked.

Just then, from the artifact's presence, the four's protoplasms exited their bodies, and randomly re-entered. "Hey! I'm me again," Shenzi smiled.

"Yipee for you," Sean/Lil muttered.

"Whoa, why am I dressed like Mikaela Banes?" Lil/Chuckie wondered aloud.

"Everyone remain calm," Chuckie/Sean ordered, then turned to the brunette girl, "Lil, the heck's going on?"

"If my calculations are correct," Sean/Lil began theorizing, "due to the instability of protoplasm in the proximity of the Daemon Ritus..."

"Whoa," Chuckie/Lil looked down her tank top.

"We're going to continue randomly changing bodies until..." Sean/Lil was cut off by the protoplasms exiting yet again, then re-entering. "... Until the protoplasm realigns with the correct bodies," She finished while in Chuckie's body.

"I'm Sean again!" Sean/Shenzi rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Dang Shen, don't you ever eat?" Shenzi/Chuckie wondered aloud.

Then the protoplasms exited and re-entered for the third time. "I'm me!" Sean exclaimed with joy, then furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at him holding Shenzi's purse handle.

"I'm back!" Shenzi added.

"Me too!" Chuckie smiled.

"Told you so," Lil said, and a sudden explosion made them whip their heads. "Oh no."

"Let's go," Shenzi led the group to the beach, where she saw a familiar face.

"Something tells me that was the wrong ingredient," The voodoo maestro remarked to himself.

The group went to confront him, but Shenzi stopped them. "Wait! I know how to handle this guy." She then straightened up. "Hey, you! What're you doing?" She walked up to the guy on the beach.

"Yeah; Real masterful," Lil rolled her eyes.

They then learned that the creatures were planning on conquering the world, and that their leader, whoever that was, needed a pure soul to complete the ritual. But... no one said the soul came from a human. "Oh boy," Chuckie muttered after hearing the last part.

"If Mondo whatever his name is wants Spike, why'd he invite us?" Sean wondered aloud.

"It doesn't matter," Chuckie said, "We've gotta save him."

"Chuck, our area of expertise involves nut jobs in Halloween costumes," Sean pointed out.

"We're supposed to be heroes," Chuckie retorted, "And I'm going to save my best canine friend."

The group stayed silent, before Sean spoke up. "L?" He looked at the brunette girl.

She started feeling emotional. "You think I'm gonna fall for that? Giving me my own nickname? Trying to make me feel like... part of the gang? We could make a plan."

"What can I do?" Shenzi muttered. "All I'm good for is getting captured."

"But you never let that stop you before," Chuckie assured her, "And if that's not a true hero, then I don't know what is." She let a shy smile grow, making butterflies go off in his chest.

The group put their hands together in the way Chuckie attempted at the airport. "Let's do this thing," Lil smiled, before they threw their hands up.

"Yeah!"

* * *

For their plan, Shenzi changed into something she could really move in; A pair of black Juicy Couture low-riding sweatpants, a matching hoodie that barely reached the waistband, a white cropped t-shirt underneath with a black Saturn on the front, her usual black and white knee-high lace-up boots, and a white extension.

The gang gathered everything they needed from the island, including the disco skull, and harnesses, then set up various pulleys around the cave. Shenzi flashed a smile at Chuckie as she worked, and he gave her one back.

"Okay, so we use the pulleys to tip over the vat." Sean began reciting the plan Lil came up with.

"Then Shenzi will open the air vents and release the disco skull..." Lil added, as the said girl set a hook on the air vents.

"The light will refract off the skull..."

"The creatures will explode, I'll find Spike, and we'll have saved the world," Chuckie finished.

But just then, they heard unfamiliar voices. "Oh, no. The ritual's beginning," Sean pointed out.

"Quick! Chuckie, attach this to the vat!" Lil threw one of the hooks down for him to use.

"Ow!" Chuckie grabbed the rope and tied it to the vat. "Shhh!" He shushed the protoplasmic heads when they started talking all at once. "We're here to save you."

"Chuckie, faster!" Lil urged him.

"All systems go," He announced, but realized that the rope was hooked to his belt. "Wait, no!" They didn't hear him, as Sean and Lil jumped down. As a result, Chuckie was pulled up in the air, and hit the hard ceiling.

He accidentally broke Shenzi's hook, so she went flying. "No!" She then hit the wall, and Chuckie crashed into a guy from the ritual, unintentionally knocking him unconscious.

"Quick, hide the Daemon Ritus," The brunette girl put the artifact in one of the bags to hide it from the henchmen.

The ritual then started, Sean and Lil attempting to fit in, so they wouldn't get busted, although Sean blew their cover, and the Daemon Ritus was taken, as Spike was made a sacrifice. Chuckie went undercover as one of the henchmen to get closer to the ritual without getting caught. He tried to rescue him, but Spike's protoplasm was taken, and the other heads formed a tornado to the Daemon Ritus, which was on Mr. Mondavarious' chest. Chuckie grabbed onto the pincer, and knocked him down, so the absorbing came to a premature end. Sean and Lil went to get the artifact as Chuckie kept ahold of the pincer, but fell. Thankfully, Spike's protoplasm returned to his body.

Lil went to grab the Daemon Ritus, but her hand jerked back when the artifact was very hot from the attempted absorbing. "Hey, look L," Sean pointed out something they knew very well, "A man in a mask." But when he pulled it off, a robot face was revealed, then they saw the culprit, who surprised them even more; Spike's power-hungry, talking nephew, Spiffy! They had abandoned him years back because his ego got out of control.

"Spiffy," Lil muttered in shock. He revealed that he brought them there to witness his triumph in world domination, as he transformed into a dog-rex from the power he absorbed.

While all that was going on, Shenzi had climbed up to the top of the mountain to open the air vents, and struggled to pull the lever. But as she tried, a certain wrestler came up behind her. "Seniorita." She froze at that voice, but turned around. A battle broke out between them, where she showed her new martial arts skills, and was winning fast.

"We gotta tip over the protoplasm vat," Lil said to Sean in the cave as the fight was happening.

"How?"

"The pincer," She pointed out, "Come on." She ran towards the controls, but was caught by two henchmen. Sean used a rope to attack them with impressive skills.

On top of the mountain, the martial arts battle was still going on; Shenzi barely dodged a body slam. But he caught her by her arms and legs on his shoulders, and forced her into a backbend. Her hoodie and shirt had shimmied up, and her pants lowered, so a lot of the skin on her belly below her navel was revealed. She filled up with dread when she felt his hand creep up her shirt with an evil laugh from him, and his fingers tickle her stretched belly. Not again! "Aahahahaha!" She laughed as she kicked her legs the best she could. She threw her head back with squeezed-shut eyes when she felt one finger wiggle in her belly button again. How the heck was she so attractive to tickle-obsessed wrestlers?! She tried to release her arms when he teased her bare, trembling side, just where it curved in.

"Captured again, seniorita?" He taunted her through her hysterical laughter.

"Nohohohot thihihis t-tihihihime!" She yelled, then bit his other hand. Thankfully, that made the tickling stop, as she jumped back down, and the fight started again. Before long, Zarkos had fallen above the air vent, gripping the ledge for support. Shenzi grabbed the rope fence, now feeling determined. "Now who's the damsel in distress?"

"Me?" He almost squeaked out.

"Straight up." She pulled the rope back, jumped off the ground, and kicked him right down the vent. As she flipped back on the ground, he ended up landing on the ledge of the vat, tipping it over and setting all the protoplasmic heads free. Shenzi pulled on the rope that was hooked to the disco skull, so the sun reflected off, destroying all the monsters once they were forced out of the college students.

Meanwhile, Sean and Lil seized control of the pincer, yet were chased away, but Chuckie gained the control, and finally ripped the Daemon Ritus off Spiffy's chest, so he shrunk back to his normal size, thus releasing the rest of the protoplasmic heads.

As the students in the cave celebrated their freedom, Shenzi lowered down to the ground, and Chuckie ran up to her. "Hey, Shen!"

"We did it!" She smiled up at him.

"Yep, we did," He nodded. As they gazed at each other, Sean heard a knocking noise from under the ground. He opened the door in the ground, and as it turned out, the real Mr. Mondavarious was trapped down there for two years, as Spiffy impersonated him! After a heartwarming reunion between Chuckie and Spike, the gang came outside to meet with police and reporters, as Spiffy, Zarkos, and his apprentice, N'Goo tuana were arrested, the gang were interviewed for their experience. And to her surprise, Sean had Lil explain everything instead of being a credit hog like before. They were even requested to solve a mystery in London, to which they agreed on.

* * *

That night, Chuckie and Shenzi walked through the festival that celebrated the case being solved. He had asked her to be his date to the festival, and she eagerly accepted. For their date, she was in her favorite black and white sneaker-like boots, a black low-riding mini skirt, a light pink extension, and a black floral embroidered cropped camisole. "You ready to go?" Chuckie had asked her after she opened her hotel room door.

"Ready as I'll ever be," She nodded, and hand-in-hand, they headed for the festival.

As they walked among the excitement, his eyes landed on a claw machine with toy severed heads. "Want a stuffed thingy?" He asked her, gesturing to the machine.

"Chuck, nobody can win at those," She pointed out regrettably.

"Sean says it's a worthless talent, that I should've learned French instead," Chuckie inserted a coin in the machine, and began moving the claw, "I say you don't need to know what "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi" means... to love that song!" He managed to grab a toy severed head with black and blue hair from the pile for her.

"Wow! I think being good at crane machine is way cooler than French."

"Voila," He handed the toy to her, and she gratefully held it.

"Nobody's ever given me a stuffed dismembered head before," She whispered, although he heard her. "This is a really nice date," She remarked.

"I, I'm glad you think so," He smiled down at her.

To his surprise, she made her toy kiss him on his cheek. "And now..." She stood on her toes, holding onto his shoulder for support, "One from me." She then planted her lips directly on his, making his eyes widen. But he relaxed into it, and cupped her cheek with one hand, and stroked her silky hair with the other. They ignored the stares from excited fans as they had their moment, then drew apart.

On the plane ride back home the next day, the new couple sat next to each other, with Spike in the window seat so they could notice any attempts of cat chases first hand. "I can't believe that creep did all that to you," Chuckie remarked. He told Shenzi about he witnessed her in the cave with Zarkos, but was too scared to help, and she reluctantly understood. "And that he knows Pangborn."

"Yeah, it kind of explained a lot," She shrugged, "I'm just glad he'll be behind bars for a while."

"Me too," He agreed, and kissed her on the cheek, making a cute blush grow.

They decided that after they come back home, they would officially start dating, even though they counted their time at the festival as their first date. After being separated for two years, they couldn't wait to rekindle some more.

* * *

 **(A/N: That's it! The series is done! You know the disclaimer; Nobody belongs to me, except Shenzi. Phew! This is the longest one out of them all! I know it's not that great, but whatever. Since there are characters from the SD movie, should this be considered a crossover? Anyway, now that the series is finished, here are some questions involving it:**

 **1 Which oneshot is your favorite?**

 **2 Which Sheckie moment do you like best?**

 **3 What are your favorite couples?**

 **For questions 1 and 2, you can have more than one answer. 3 already implies more than one answer, anyway.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the whole series! Now I'll have time to work on Love At First Sight, Could It Be, and possibly stories for other franchises.)**


End file.
